Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 102, Issue 8, Pages 2940-2945Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0409846102
Keywords
vaccines safety; efficacy; immune-modulating genes; smallpox
Categories
Funding
- NIAID NIH HHS [R21 AI059185, AI54951, AI59185, R01 AI054951, AI53811, R21 AI053811] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In a continuing effort to develop safe and efficacious vaccine and immunotherapeutic vectors, we constructed recombinant vaccinia virus (rVV) vaccines lacking either the B13R (SPI-2) or the B22R (SPI-1) immune-modulating gene and coexpressing IFN-gamma. B13Rand B22R are nonessential VV immune-modulating genes that have antiapoptotic and antiinflammatory properties with sequence homology to serine protease inhibitors (serpins). IFN-gamma is a cytokine with potent immunoregulatory, antineoplastic, and antiviral properties. We observed that these rVVs with a deletion in a serpin gene and expressing IFN-gamma replicated to high titers in tissue culture yet were avirulent in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent mice with no detectable viral replication in these animals. A single immunization elicited potent humoral, T helper, and cytotoxic T cell immune responses in mice despite the absence of any detectable virus replication in vivo. IFN-gamma coexpression and the inactivation of one or more VV immune-modulating genes provide an optimized method for increasing the safety while maintaining the efficacy of rVV vaccines. This strategy provides a method for developing highly safe and efficacious vaccines for smallpox and other diseases and immunotherapeutic vectors.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available