Objective
HIV-1 and AIDS are spreading in Africa and Asia at unprecedented speed. A vaccine against HIV-1/AIDS is urgently needed. Vaccine candidates that show most promise in simian AIDS models are based on a prime-boost strategy, applying naked DNA or alphaviruses as prime and pox viruses as boost. The objectives of the EuroVac- II project are to demonstrate in a phase I trial of humans: firstly the ability of Semliki Forest virus (SFV) to prime anti-HIV immune responses, - compared to the attenuated poxvirus NYVAC -, using a recombinant gp140 protein boost; and secondly the ability of SFV priming, - using DNA priming as benchmark -, to improve the immune responses elicited by NYVAC + rgp140 vaccination. This design will provide conclusions concerning the relative immunogenicity of different prime-boost strategies. The HIV-1 genes used are recovered from a primary isolate belonging to HIV-1 subtype C, the most frequent cause of AIDS worldwide. The choice of genes (gag, pol, nef) other than envelope is based on the frequency of HIV-specific T-cell responses in long-term asymptomatic HIV infected individuals.
Funding Scheme
DEM - Demonstration contractsCoordinator
171 77 Stockholm
Sweden
Participants (12)
1105AZ Amsterdam
69280 Marcy-l'etoile
69364 Lyon
ST5 5SP Newcastle
20132 Milano
PE28 4HS Huntingdon
W12 0NN London
67000 Strasbourg
W1N 4AL London
67400 Illkirch Graffenstaden
93053 Regensburg
1011 Lausanne
