6th International AIDS Conference


San Francisco, California, USA — June 20-23, 1990

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Evaluation of carriers and adjuvants in development of next-generation p17-based synthetic peptide AIDS vaccine.

Int Conf AIDS 1990 Jun 20-23; 6:328 (abstract no. 1058)
Kirkley JE, Naylor PH, Sztein MB, Sarin PS, Pietrobon PJ, Goldstein AL, Holternan D, Rosenberg E, Lee CH; The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington D.C., USA

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of alternative carriers and adjuvants for synthetic peptide vaccines based on the candidate HGP-30 peptide.

METHODS: Balb/c mice were injected with HGP-30 conjugated to alternative carriers (tetanus toxoid (TT), diphtheria toxoid (DIP), bovine serum albumin (BSA), Keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)) and adjuvants (Montanide ISA 721, RIBI, Freund's and alum). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure antibody levels to the synthetic immunogen. Recognition of whole p17 was confirmed by Western blot. T-cell stimulation was measured by proliferative response of spleen cells from immunized animals to antigen.

RESULTS: Antibodies against both the synthetic immunogen, HGP-30, and native p17 were raised in mice immunized with 2 of 4 carrier constructs, DIP and KLH. All adjuvants assessed with the HGP-30-KLH construct increased the B-cell response. DIP-HGP-30/alum and KLH-HGP-30/alum were effective in stimulating T cells responsive to antigen, carrier and conjugate.

CONCLUSION: Diphtheria toxoid may be an alternative carrier to KLH for an HGP-30 synthetic peptide vaccine. Major differences between adjuvants tested were not apparent, although alum was weakest. T-cell studies also suggest the constructs can stimulate helper T-cells, results consistent with our human data showing that HGP-30 contains both T- and B-cell epitopes.

Keywords: AEGIS, AIDS Vaccines, HIV Antigens, Adjuvants, Immunologic, Peptides, Hemocyanin, Vaccines, Synthetic, Alum Compounds, Evaluation Studies, T-Lymphocytes, Tetanus Toxoid, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, HIV p17 antigen peptide HGP-30, keyhole-limpet hemocyanin, aluminum sulfate, Animal, Cattle, Human, Mice, ICA6

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