AIDSWEEKLY Plus, Monday, 9 June 1997
Daniel J. DeNoon, Senior Editor
Several rhinovirus/HIV chimeric viruses induce high titers of neutralizing antibodies in animal studies.
Two of these chimeras currently are being tested in chimpanzees, according to Gail Ferstandig Arnold and colleagues of Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey.
Arnold reported the development of the candidate HIV vaccine in a poster presentation to the 9th Annual Meeting of the National Cooperative Vaccine Development Groups for AIDS (NCVDG), held May 4-7, 1997, in Bethesda, Maryland.
"Seven of eight chimeric viruses used to immunize guinea pigs were able to elicit neutralizing antibody responses against the MN and ALA-1 strains of HIV-1, some with extremely high titers," Arnold et al. wrote.
The researchers produced a library of the rhinovirus/HIV chimeras by genetically engineering human rhinovirus 14 (HRV14) to display the V3 loop of the HIV gp120 envelope glycoprotein in a wide variety of conformations.
"The V3 loop sequence was inserted into a naturally immunogenic site of HRV14, bridged by linkers consisting of zero to three randomized amino acids on each side," Arnold et al. wrote.
Using a number of immunoselection strategies, the researchers identified the rhinovirus/HIV chimeras that presented the V3 antigen in the most authentic manner. They then used four monoclonal antibodies against the V3 loop to determine which chimeras could best be neutralized. The eight most promising chimeras were tested in guinea pigs.
"We are currently examining the immune responses of chimpanzees immunized with two chimeras," Arnold et al. wrote.
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