Emerging Microbes and Infections (Dec 2023)

Rhesus macaques show increased resistance to repeated SHIV intrarectal exposure following a heterologous regimen of rVSV vector vaccine expressing HIV antigen

  • Joseph Jelinski,
  • Monika M. Kowatsch,
  • Marc-Alexandre Lafrance,
  • Alice Berger,
  • Jannie Pedersen,
  • Hiva Azizi,
  • Yue Li,
  • Florine Scholte,
  • Alejandro Gomez,
  • Natasha Hollett,
  • Toby Le,
  • Matthew Wade,
  • Hugues Fausther-Bovendo,
  • Marc-Antoine de La Vega,
  • George Babuadze,
  • Ara,
  • Claude Lamarre,
  • Trina Racine,
  • Chil-Yong Kang,
  • Xiao-Jian Yao,
  • Galit Alter,
  • Eric Arts,
  • Keith R. Fowke,
  • Gary P. Kobinger

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2023.2251595
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 2

Abstract

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Despite the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic continuing worldwide for 40 years, no vaccine to combat the disease has been licenced for use in at risk populations. Here, we describe a novel recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) vector vaccine expressing modified HIV envelope glycoproteins and Ebola virus glycoprotein. Three heterologous immunizations successfully prevented infection by a different clade SHIV in 60% of non-human primates (NHPs). No trend was observed between resistance and antibody interactions. Resistance to infection was associated with high proportions of central memory T-cell CD69 and CD154 marker upregulation, increased IL-2 production, and a reduced IFN-γ response, offering insight into correlates of protection.

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