"Simian Tests Raise AIDS-Vaccine Hope"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"Simian Tests Raise AIDS-Vaccine Hope"

New York Times (12/18/92), P. A30
Altman, Lawrence K.

Abstract: An experimental vaccine has completely protected six rhesus monkeys against the simian form of HIV infection for more than three years, making it the strongest and longest lasting of any AIDS-related vaccine, according to a report published in today's issue of Science. The research was led by Dr. Ronald C. Desrosiers of the New England Regional Primate Research Center in Southborough, Mass. Federal health officials who funded the experiments considered the finding "a significant advance" in the search for a human vaccine to protect against HIV. The monkey vaccine contains live simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), the virus that causes an AIDS-like disease in monkeys, from which a key gene was removed. The research involved the deletion of a gene known as nef from SIV and then injecting the virus in the monkeys. The function of the nef gene is unknown. When nef-deleted SIV is used in test tube experiments, the virus reproduces and harms cells. But Desrosiers said he was surprised to find that injection of the nef-deleted SIV did not harm the monkeys. The research led him to question whether nef-deleted SIV could be used as a vaccine. He began the research by injecting nef-deleted SIV into six monkeys who stayed healthy after two and a quarter years. Dr. Desrosiers said that the new findings could lead to the first safety tests of such a vaccine on human volunteers in two years. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said scientists at his institute are "extremely enthusiastic about the possibilities" of Dr. Desrosiers' findings. Related Stories: Washington Post (12/18) P. A1; USA Today (12/18) P. 1A; Philadelphia Inquirer (12/18) P. A1; Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (12/18) P. A1; Baltimore Sun (12/18) P. 1A; Washington Times (12/18) P. A8

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