Frontiers in Microbiology (Feb 2011)

Vaccination with human induced pluripotent stem cells creates an antigen-specific immune response against HIV-1 gp160

  • Shinji eYoshizaki,
  • Mayuko eNishi,
  • Asami eKondo,
  • Yoshitsugu eKojima,
  • Naoki eYamamoto,
  • Akihide eRyo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2011.00027
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2

Abstract

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Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are artificially derived from somatic cells that have been transduced with defined reprogramming factors. A previous report has indicated the possibility of using iPSCs as an immune stimulator to generate antigen-specific immunity. In our current study, we have investigated whether human iPSCs (hiPSCs) have the ability to enhance specific immune response against a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) antigen in a xenogenic mouse model. Our results show that BALB/c mice immunized with hiPSCs transduced with an adenoviral vector encoding HIV-1 gp160 exhibited prominent antigen-specific cellular immune responses. We further found that pre-treatment of hiPSCs with ionizing radiation promotes the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α), IL-12 and IL-18. These cytokines might promote the activation of antigen-presenting cells and the effective induction of cellular immunity. Our present findings thus demonstrate that a hiPSCs-based vaccine has the potential to generate cellular immunity against viral antigens such as HIV-1 gp160 in a xenogenic condition.

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