Increased tumor localization and reduced immune response to adenoviral vector formulated with the liposome DDAB/DOPE.

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Steel, Jason C; Cavanagh, Heather M A; Burton, Mark A; Abu-Asab, Mones S; Tsokos, Maria; Morris, John C; Kalle, Wouter H J

2007-04-01

We aimed to increase the efficiency of adenoviral vectors by limiting adenoviral spread from the target site and reducing unwanted host immune responses to the vector. We complexed adenoviral vectors with DDAB-DOPE liposomes to form adenovirus-liposomal (AL) complexes. AL complexes were delivered by intratumoral injection in an immunocompetent subcutaneous rat tumor model and the immunogenicity of the AL complexes and the expression efficiency in the tumor and other organs was examined. Animals treated with the AL complexes had significantly lower levels of beta-galactosidase expression in systemic tissues compared to animals treated with the naked adenovirus (NA) (P<0.05). The tumor to non-tumor ratio of beta-galactosidase marker expression was significantly higher for the AL complex treated animals. NA induced significantly higher titers of adenoviral-specific antibodies compared to the AL complexes (P<0.05). The AL complexes provided protection (immunoshielding) to the adenovirus from neutralizing antibody. Forty-seven percent more beta-galactosidase expression was detected following intratumoral injection with AL complexes compared to the NA in animals pre-immunized with adenovirus. Complexing of adenovirus with liposomes provides a simple method to enhance tumor localization of the vector, decrease the immunogenicity of adenovirus, and provide protection of the virus from pre-existing neutralizing antibodies.

Purification of adenoviral vectors by combined anion exchange and gel filtration chromatography.

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Eglon, Marc N; Duffy, Aoife M; O'Brien, Timothy; Strappe, Padraig M

2009-11-01

Adenoviral vectors are used extensively in human gene therapy trials and in vaccine development. Large-scale GMP production requires a downstream purification process, and liquid chromatography is emerging as the most powerful mode of purification, enabling the production of vectors at a clinically relevant scale and quality. The present study describes the development of a two-step high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) process combining anion exchange (AIEX) and gel filtration (GF) in comparison with the caesium chloride density gradient method. HEK-293 cells were cultured in ten-layer CellStacks() and infected with 10 pfu/cell of adenoviral vector expressing green fluorescent protein (Ad5-GFP). Cell-bound virus was harvested and benzonase added to digest DNA, crude lysate was clarified by centrifugation and filtration prior to HPLC. Chromatography fractions were added to HEK-293 cells and GFP expression measured using a fluorescent plate reader. Using AIEX then GF resulted in an adenoviral vector with purity comparable to Ad5-GFP purified by CsCl, whereas the reverse process (GF-AIEX) showed a reduced purity by electrophoresis and required further buffer exchange of the product. The optimal process (AIEX-GF) resulted in a vector yield of 2.3 x 10(7) pfu/cm(2) of cell culture harvested compared to 3.3 x 10(7) pfu/cm(2) for CsCl. The process recovery for the HPLC process was 36% compared to 27.5% for CsCl and total virion to infectious particle ratios of 18 and 11, respectively, were measured. We present a simple two-step chromatography process that is capable of producing high-quality adenovirus at a titre suitable for scale-up and clinical translation.

Homology Requirements for Efficient, Footprintless Gene Editing at the CFTR Locus in Human iPSCs with Helper-dependent Adenoviral Vectors

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Donna J Palmer

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Helper-dependent adenoviral vectors mediate high efficiency gene editing in induced pluripotent stem cells without needing a designer nuclease thereby avoiding off-target cleavage. Because of their large cloning capacity of 37 kb, helper-dependent adenoviral vectors with long homology arms are used for gene editing. However, this makes vector construction and recombinant analysis difficult. Conversely, insufficient homology may compromise targeting efficiency. Thus, we investigated the effect of homology length on helper-dependent adenoviral vector targeting efficiency at the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator locus in induced pluripotent stem cells and found a positive correlation. With 23.8 and 21.4 kb of homology, the frequencies of targeted recombinants were 50–64.6% after positive selection for vector integration, and 97.4–100% after negative selection against random integrations. With 14.8 kb, the frequencies were 26.9–57.1% after positive selection and 87.5–100% after negative selection. With 9.6 kb, the frequencies were 21.4 and 75% after positive and negative selection, respectively. With only 5.6 kb, the frequencies were 5.6–16.7% after positive selection and 50% after negative selection, but these were more than high enough for efficient identification and isolation of targeted clones. Furthermore, we demonstrate helper-dependent adenoviral vector-mediated footprintless correction of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator mutations through piggyBac excision of the selectable marker. However, low frequencies (≤ 1 × 10−3 necessitated negative selection for piggyBac-excision product isolation.

Adenoviral vector-mediated gene expression in the nervous system of immunocompetent Wistar and T cell-deficient nude rats : preferential survival of transduced astroglial cells in nude rats

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hermens, W.T.J.M.C.; Verhaagen, J

1997-01-01

In the present paper, we examined the effect of the adenoviral vector dosage, the role of T cells, and the influence of the presence of replication-competent adenovirus (RCA) in adenoviral vector stocks, on the efficacy of adenoviral vector-directed transgene expression in the facial nucleus of

CRISPR/Cas9 delivery with one single adenoviral vector devoid of all viral genes.

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Ehrke-Schulz, Eric; Schiwon, Maren; Leitner, Theo; Dávid, Stephan; Bergmann, Thorsten; Liu, Jing; Ehrhardt, Anja

2017-12-07

The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system revolutionized the field of gene editing but viral delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 system has not been fully explored. Here we adapted clinically relevant high-capacity adenoviral vectors (HCAdV) devoid of all viral genes for the delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 machinery using a single viral vector. We present a platform enabling fast transfer of the Cas9 gene and gRNA expression units into the HCAdV genome including the option to choose between constitutive or inducible Cas9 expression and gRNA multiplexing. Efficacy and versatility of this pipeline was exemplified by producing different CRISPR/Cas9-HCAdV targeting the human papillomavirus (HPV) 18 oncogene E6, the dystrophin gene causing Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and the HIV co-receptor C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5). All CRISPR/Cas9-HCAdV proved to be efficient to deliver the respective CRISPR/Cas9 expression units and to introduce the desired DNA double strand breaks at their intended target sites in immortalized and primary cells.

Fetal muscle gene transfer is not enhanced by an RGD capsid modification to high-capacity adenoviral vectors.

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Bilbao, R; Reay, D P; Hughes, T; Biermann, V; Volpers, C; Goldberg, L; Bergelson, J; Kochanek, S; Clemens, P R

2003-10-01

High levels of alpha(v) integrin expression by fetal muscle suggested that vector re-targeting to integrins could enhance adenoviral vector-mediated transduction, thereby increasing safety and efficacy of muscle gene transfer in utero. High-capacity adenoviral (HC-Ad) vectors modified by an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide motif in the HI loop of the adenoviral fiber (RGD-HC-Ad) have demonstrated efficient gene transfer through binding to alpha(v) integrins. To test integrin targeting of HC-Ad vectors for fetal muscle gene transfer, we compared unmodified and RGD-modified HC-Ad vectors. In vivo, unmodified HC-Ad vector transduced fetal mouse muscle with four-fold higher efficiency compared to RGD-HC-Ad vector. Confirming that the difference was due to muscle cell autonomous factors and not mechanical barriers, transduction of primary myogenic cells isolated from murine fetal muscle in vitro demonstrated a three-fold better transduction by HC-Ad vector than by RGD-HC-Ad vector. We hypothesized that the high expression level of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR), demonstrated in fetal muscle cells both in vitro and in vivo, was the crucial variable influencing the relative transduction efficiencies of HC-Ad and RGD-HC-Ad vectors. To explore this further, we studied transduction by HC-Ad and RGD-HC-Ad vectors in paired cell lines that expressed alpha(v) integrins and differed only by the presence or absence of CAR expression. The results increase our understanding of factors that will be important for retargeting HC-Ad vectors to enhance gene transfer to fetal muscle.

Quantification of residual host cell DNA in adenoviral vectors produced on PER.C6 cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gijsbers, Linda; Koel, Björn; Weggeman, Miranda; Goudsmit, Jaap; Havenga, Menzo; Marzio, Giuseppe

2005-01-01

Recombinant adenoviral vectors for gene therapy and vaccination are routinely prepared on cultures of immortalized cells, allowing the production of vector batches of high titer and consistent quality. Quantification of residual DNA from the producing cell line is part of the purity tests for

Effect of HIV-1 envelope cytoplasmic tail on adenovirus primed virus encoded virus-like particle immunizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersson, Anne Marie C; Ragonnaud, Emeline; Seaton, Kelly E.

2016-01-01

were found between the different priming regimens as both induced high titered tier 1 neutralizing antibodies, but no tier 2 antibodies, possibly reflecting the similar presentation of trimer specific antibody epitopes. The described vaccine regimens provide insight into the effects of the HIV-1 Env......The low number of envelope (Env) spikes presented on native HIV-1 particles is a major impediment for HIV-1 prophylactic vaccine development. We designed virus-like particle encoding adenoviral vectors utilizing SIVmac239 Gag as an anchor for full length and truncated HIV-1 M consensus Env...

Safety and immunogenicity of adenovirus-vectored near-consensus HIV type 1 clade B gag vaccines in healthy adults.

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Harro, Clayton D; Robertson, Michael N; Lally, Michelle A; O'Neill, Lori D; Edupuganti, Srilatha; Goepfert, Paul A; Mulligan, Mark J; Priddy, Frances H; Dubey, Sheri A; Kierstead, Lisa S; Sun, Xiao; Casimiro, Danilo R; DiNubile, Mark J; Shiver, John W; Leavitt, Randi Y; Mehrotra, Devan V

2009-01-01

Vaccines inducing pathogen-specific cell-mediated immunity are being developed using attenuated adenoviral (Ad) vectors. We report the results of two independent Phase I trials of similar replication-deficient Ad5 vaccines containing a near-consensus HIV-1 clade B gag transgene. Healthy HIV-uninfected adults were enrolled in two separate, multicenter, dose-escalating, blinded, placebo-controlled studies to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a three-dose homologous regimen of Ad5 and MRKAd5 HIV-1 gag vaccines given on day 1, week 4, and week 26. Adverse events were collected for 29 days following each intradeltoid injection. The primary immunogenicity endpoint was the proportion of subjects with a positive unfractionated Gag-specific IFN-gamma ELISPOT response measured 4 weeks after the last dose (week 30). Analyses were performed after combining data for each dose group from both protocols, stratifying by baseline Ad5 titers. Overall, 252 subjects were randomized to receive either vaccine or placebo, including 229 subjects (91%) who completed the study through week 30. Tolerability and immunogenicity did not appear to differ between the Ad5 and MRKAd5 vaccines. The frequency of injection-site reactions was dose dependent. Systemic adverse events were also dose dependent and more frequent in subjects with baseline Ad5 titers or =200, especially after the first dose. The percent of ELISPOT responders and the ELISPOT geometric means overall were significantly higher for all four vaccine doses studied compared to placebo, and were generally higher in vaccine recipients with baseline Ad5 titers or = 200. Ad5 titers increased after vaccination in a dose-dependent fashion. Both Ad5-vectored HIV-1 vaccines were generally well tolerated and induced cell-mediated immune responses against HIV Gag-peptides in the majority of healthy adults with baseline Ad5 titers vaccine-induced immunity to the Ad5 vector may dampen the CMI response to HIV Gag.

Synthetic AAV/CRISPR vectors for blocking HIV-1 expression in persistently infected astrocytes.

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Kunze, Christine; Börner, Kathleen; Kienle, Eike; Orschmann, Tanja; Rusha, Ejona; Schneider, Martha; Radivojkov-Blagojevic, Milena; Drukker, Micha; Desbordes, Sabrina; Grimm, Dirk; Brack-Werner, Ruth

2018-02-01

Astrocytes, the most abundant cells in the mammalian brain, perform key functions and are involved in several neurodegenerative diseases. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can persist in astrocytes, contributing to the HIV burden and neurological dysfunctions in infected individuals. While a comprehensive approach to HIV cure must include the targeting of HIV-1 in astrocytes, dedicated tools for this purpose are still lacking. Here we report a novel Adeno-associated virus-based vector (AAV9P1) with a synthetic surface peptide for transduction of astrocytes. Analysis of AAV9P1 transduction efficiencies with single brain cell populations, including primary human brain cells, as well as human brain organoids demonstrated that AAV9P1 targeted terminally differentiated human astrocytes much more efficiently than neurons. We then investigated whether AAV9P1 can be used to deliver HIV-inhibitory genes to astrocytes. To this end we generated AAV9P1 vectors containing genes for HIV-1 proviral editing by CRISPR/Cas9. Latently HIV-1 infected astrocytes transduced with these vectors showed significantly diminished reactivation of proviruses, compared with untransduced cultures. Sequence analysis identified mutations/deletions in key HIV-1 transcriptional control regions. We conclude that AAV9P1 is a promising tool for gene delivery to astrocytes and may facilitate inactivation/destruction of persisting HIV-1 proviruses in astrocyte reservoirs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Genetically Modified Adenoviral Vector with a Phage Display-Derived Peptide Incorporated into Fiber Fibritin Chimera Prolongs Survival in Experimental Glioma.

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Kim, Julius W; Kane, J Robert; Young, Jacob S; Chang, Alan L; Kanojia, Deepak; Morshed, Ramin A; Miska, Jason; Ahmed, Atique U; Balyasnikova, Irina V; Han, Yu; Zhang, Lingjiao; Curiel, David T; Lesniak, Maciej S

2015-09-01

The dismal clinical context of advanced-grade glioma demands the development of novel therapeutic strategies with direct patient impact. Adenovirus-mediated virotherapy represents a potentially effective approach for glioma therapy. In this research, we generated a novel glioma-specific adenovirus by instituting more advanced genetic modifications that can maximize the efficiency and safety of therapeutic adenoviral vectors. In this regard, a glioma-specific targeted fiber was developed through the incorporation of previously published glioma-specific, phage-panned peptide (VWT peptide) on a fiber fibritin-based chimeric fiber, designated as "GliomaFF." We showed that the entry of this virus was highly restricted to glioma cells, supporting the specificity imparted by the phage-panned peptide. In addition, the stability of the targeting moiety presented by fiber fibritin structure permitted greatly enhanced infectivity. Furthermore, the replication of this virus was restricted in glioma cells by controlling expression of the E1 gene under the activity of the tumor-specific survivin promoter. Using this approach, we were able to explore the combinatorial efficacy of various adenoviral modifications that could amplify the specificity, infectivity, and exclusive replication of this therapeutic adenovirus in glioma. Finally, virotherapy with this modified virus resulted in up to 70% extended survival in an in vivo murine glioma model. These data demonstrate that this novel adenoviral vector is a safe and efficient treatment for this difficult malignancy.

Assessment of Integration-defective HIV-1 and EIAV Vectors In Vitro and In Vivo

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Scott Ellis

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The interest in integrase-defective lentiviral vectors (IDLVs stems from their potential advantage of large cloning capacity and broad cell tropism while avoiding the possibility of insertional mutagenesis. Here, we directly compared the transducing potential of IDLVs based on the equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV to the more commonly described HIV-1 IDLVs. IDLVs were constructed by introducing equivalent single/triple mutations into the integrase catalytic triad. We show that both the single and the triple mutant HIV-1 IDLVs transduce the PC12 cells, but not the C2C12 cells, with similar efficiency to their parental HIV-1 vector. In contrast, the single and triple EIAV IDLVs did not efficiently transduce either differentiated cell line. Moreover, this HIV-1 IDLV-mediated expression was independent of any residual integration activity because reporter expression was lost when cell cycling was restored. Four weeks following stereotactic administration into adult rat brains, only the single HIV-1 IDLV mutant displayed a comparable transduction profile to the parental HIV-1 vector. In contrast, neither EIAV IDLV mutants showed significant reporter gene expression. This work indicates that the transducing potential of IDLVs appears to depend not only on the choice of integrase mutation and type of target cell, but also on the nature of the lentiviral vector.

Therapeutic Efficacy of Vectored PGT121 Gene Delivery in HIV-1-Infected Humanized Mice.

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Badamchi-Zadeh, Alexander; Tartaglia, Lawrence J; Abbink, Peter; Bricault, Christine A; Liu, Po-Ting; Boyd, Michael; Kirilova, Marinela; Mercado, Noe B; Nanayakkara, Ovini S; Vrbanac, Vladimir D; Tager, Andrew M; Larocca, Rafael A; Seaman, Michael S; Barouch, Dan H

2018-04-01

Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) are being explored for HIV-1 prevention and cure strategies. However, administration of purified bNAbs poses challenges in resource-poor settings, where the HIV-1 disease burden is greatest. In vivo vector-based production of bNAbs represents an alternative strategy. We investigated adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) and adeno-associated virus serotype 1 (AAV1) vectors to deliver the HIV-1-specific bNAb PGT121 in wild-type and immunocompromised C57BL/6 mice as well as in HIV-1-infected bone marrow-liver-thymus (BLT) humanized mice. Ad5.PGT121 and AAV1.PGT121 produced functional antibody in vivo Ad5.PGT121 produced PGT121 rapidly within 6 h, whereas AAV1.PGT121 produced detectable PGT121 in serum by 72 h. Serum PGT121 levels were rapidly reduced by the generation of anti-PGT121 antibodies in immunocompetent mice but were durably maintained in immunocompromised mice. In HIV-1-infected BLT humanized mice, Ad5.PGT121 resulted in a greater reduction of viral loads than did AAV1.PGT121. Ad5.PGT121 also led to more-sustained virologic control than purified PGT121 IgG. Ad5.PGT121 afforded more rapid, robust, and durable antiviral efficacy than AAV1.PGT121 and purified PGT121 IgG in HIV-1-infected humanized mice. Further evaluation of vector delivery of HIV-1 bNAbs is warranted, although approaches to prevent the generation of antiantibody responses may also be required. IMPORTANCE Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) are being explored for HIV-1 prevention and cure strategies, but delivery of purified antibodies may prove challenging. We investigated adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) and adeno-associated virus serotype 1 (AAV1) vectors to deliver the HIV-1-specific bNAb PGT121. Ad5.PGT121 afforded more rapid, robust, and durable antiviral efficacy than AAV1.PGT121 and purified PGT121 IgG in HIV-1-infected humanized mice. Copyright © 2018 Badamchi-Zadeh et al.

A new adenovirus based vaccine vector expressing an Eimeria tenella derived TLR agonist improves cellular immune responses to an antigenic target.

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Daniel M Appledorn

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Adenoviral based vectors remain promising vaccine platforms for use against numerous pathogens, including HIV. Recent vaccine trials utilizing Adenovirus based vaccines expressing HIV antigens confirmed induction of cellular immune responses, but these responses failed to prevent HIV infections in vaccinees. This illustrates the need to develop vaccine formulations capable of generating more potent T-cell responses to HIV antigens, such as HIV-Gag, since robust immune responses to this antigen correlate with improved outcomes in long-term non-progressor HIV infected individuals.In this study we designed a novel vaccine strategy utilizing an Ad-based vector expressing a potent TLR agonist derived from Eimeria tenella as an adjuvant to improve immune responses from a [E1-]Ad-based HIV-Gag vaccine. Our results confirm that expression of rEA elicits significantly increased TLR mediated innate immune responses as measured by the influx of plasma cytokines and chemokines, and activation of innate immune responding cells. Furthermore, our data show that the quantity and quality of HIV-Gag specific CD8(+ and CD8(- T-cell responses were significantly improved when coupled with rEA expression. These responses also correlated with a significantly increased number of HIV-Gag derived epitopes being recognized by host T cells. Finally, functional assays confirmed that rEA expression significantly improved antigen specific CTL responses, in vivo. Moreover, we show that these improved responses were dependent upon improved TLR pathway interactions.The data presented in this study illustrate the potential utility of Ad-based vectors expressing TLR agonists to improve clinical outcomes dependent upon induction of robust, antigen specific immune responses.

Tropism-Modification Strategies for Targeted Gene Delivery Using Adenoviral Vectors

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Andrew H. Baker

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Achieving high efficiency, targeted gene delivery with adenoviral vectors is a long-standing goal in the field of clinical gene therapy. To achieve this, platform vectors must combine efficient retargeting strategies with detargeting modifications to ablate native receptor binding (i.e. CAR/integrins/heparan sulfate proteoglycans and “bridging” interactions. “Bridging” interactions refer to coagulation factor binding, namely coagulation factor X (FX, which bridges hepatocyte transduction in vivo through engagement with surface expressed heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs. These interactions can contribute to the off-target sequestration of Ad5 in the liver and its characteristic dose-limiting hepatotoxicity, thereby significantly limiting the in vivo targeting efficiency and clinical potential of Ad5-based therapeutics. To date, various approaches to retargeting adenoviruses (Ad have been described. These include genetic modification strategies to incorporate peptide ligands (within fiber knob domain, fiber shaft, penton base, pIX or hexon, pseudotyping of capsid proteins to include whole fiber substitutions or fiber knob chimeras, pseudotyping with non-human Ad species or with capsid proteins derived from other viral families, hexon hypervariable region (HVR substitutions and adapter-based conjugation/crosslinking of scFv, growth factors or monoclonal antibodies directed against surface-expressed target antigens. In order to maximize retargeting, strategies which permit detargeting from undesirable interactions between the Ad capsid and components of the circulatory system (e.g. coagulation factors, erythrocytes, pre-existing neutralizing antibodies, can be employed simultaneously. Detargeting can be achieved by genetic ablation of native receptor-binding determinants, ablation of “bridging interactions” such as those which occur between the hexon of Ad5 and coagulation factor X (FX, or alternatively, through the use of polymer

Distinct susceptibility of HIV vaccine vector-induced CD4 T cells to HIV infection

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Niu, Qingli; Hou, Wei; Churchyard, Gavin; Nitayaphan, Sorachai; Pitisuthithum, Punnee; Rerks-Ngarm, Supachai; Franchini, Genoveffa

2018-01-01

The concerns raised from adenovirus 5 (Ad5)-based HIV vaccine clinical trials, where excess HIV infections were observed in some vaccine recipients, have highlighted the importance of understanding host responses to vaccine vectors and the HIV susceptibility of vector-specific CD4 T cells in HIV vaccination. Our recent study reported that human Ad5-specific CD4 T cells induced by Ad5 vaccination (RV156A trial) are susceptible to HIV. Here we further investigated the HIV susceptibility of vector-specific CD4 T cells induced by ALVAC, a canarypox viral vector tested in the Thai trial RV144, as compared to Ad5 vector-specific CD4 T cells in the HVTN204 trial. We showed that while Ad5 vector-specific CD4 T cells were readily susceptible to HIV, ALVAC-specific CD4 T cells in RV144 PBMC were substantially less susceptible to both R5 and X4 HIV in vitro. The lower HIV susceptibility of ALVAC-specific CD4 T cells was associated with the reduced surface expression of HIV entry co-receptors CCR5 and CXCR4 on these cells. Phenotypic analyses identified that ALVAC-specific CD4 T cells displayed a strong Th1 phenotype, producing higher levels of IFN-γ and CCL4 (MIP-1β) but little IL-17. Of interest, ALVAC and Ad5 vectors induced distinct profiles of vector-specific CD8 vs. CD4 T-cell proliferative responses in PBMC, with ALVAC preferentially inducing CD8 T-cell proliferation, while Ad5 vector induced CD4 T-cell proliferation. Depletion of ALVAC-, but not Ad5-, induced CD8 T cells in PBMC led to a modest increase in HIV infection of vector-specific CD4 T cells, suggesting a role of ALVAC-specific CD8 T cells in protecting ALVAC-specific CD4 T cells from HIV. Taken together, our data provide strong evidence for distinct HIV susceptibility of CD4 T cells induced by different vaccine vectors and highlight the importance of better evaluating anti-vector responses in HIV vaccination. PMID:29474461

Ex vivo adenoviral vector-mediated neurotrophin gene transfer to olfactory ensheathing glia : effects on rubrospinal tract regeneration, lesion size, and functional recovery after implantation in the injured rat spinal cord

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruitenberg, Marc J; Plant, Giles W; Hamers, Frank P T; Wortel, Joke; Blits, Bas; Dijkhuizen, Paul A; Gispen, Willem Hendrik; Boer, Gerard J; Verhaagen, J.

2003-01-01

The present study uniquely combines olfactory ensheathing glia (OEG) implantation with ex vivo adenoviral (AdV) vector-based neurotrophin gene therapy in an attempt to enhance regeneration after cervical spinal cord injury. Primary OEG were transduced with AdV vectors encoding rat brain-derived

Molecular Characterization of Heterologous HIV-1gp120 Gene Expression Disruption in Mycobacterium bovis BCG Host Strain: A Critical Issue for Engineering Mycobacterial Based-Vaccine Vectors

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Joan; Fernández-Lloris, Raquel; Pezzat, Elías; Saubi, Narcís; Cardona, Pere-Joan; Mothe, Beatriz; Gatell, Josep Maria

2010-01-01

Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) as a live vector of recombinant bacterial vaccine is a promising system to be used. In this study, we evaluate the disrupted expression of heterologous HIV-1gp120 gene in BCG Pasteur host strain using replicative vectors pMV261 and pJH222. pJH222 carries a lysine complementing gene in BCG lysine auxotrophs. The HIV-1 gp120 gene expression was regulated by BCG hsp60 promoter (in plasmid pMV261) and Mycobacteria spp. α-antigen promoter (in plasmid pJH222). Among 14 rBCG:HIV-1gp120 (pMV261) colonies screened, 12 showed a partial deletion and two showed a complete deletion. However, deletion was not observed in all 10 rBCG:HIV-1gp120 (pJH222) colonies screened. In this study, we demonstrated that E. coli/Mycobacterial expression vectors bearing a weak promoter and lysine complementing gene in a recombinant lysine auxotroph of BCG could prevent genetic rearrangements and disruption of HIV 1gp120 gene expression, a key issue for engineering Mycobacterial based vaccine vectors. PMID:20617151

Molecular Characterization of Heterologous HIV-1gp120 Gene Expression Disruption in Mycobacterium bovis BCG Host Strain: A Critical Issue for Engineering Mycobacterial Based-Vaccine Vectors

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Joan Joseph

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG as a live vector of recombinant bacterial vaccine is a promising system to be used. In this study, we evaluate the disrupted expression of heterologous HIV-1gp120 gene in BCG Pasteur host strain using replicative vectors pMV261 and pJH222. pJH222 carries a lysine complementing gene in BCG lysine auxotrophs. The HIV-1 gp120 gene expression was regulated by BCG hsp60 promoter (in plasmid pMV261 and Mycobacteria spp. α-antigen promoter (in plasmid pJH222. Among 14 rBCG:HIV-1gp120 (pMV261 colonies screened, 12 showed a partial deletion and two showed a complete deletion. However, deletion was not observed in all 10 rBCG:HIV-1gp120 (pJH222 colonies screened. In this study, we demonstrated that E. coli/Mycobacterial expression vectors bearing a weak promoter and lysine complementing gene in a recombinant lysine auxotroph of BCG could prevent genetic rearrangements and disruption of HIV 1gp120 gene expression, a key issue for engineering Mycobacterial based vaccine vectors.

RNA interference-based therapeutics for human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1 treatment: synthetic siRNA or vector-based shRNA?

Science.gov (United States)

Subramanya, Sandesh; Kim, Sang-Soo; Manjunath, N; Shankar, Premlata

2010-02-01

Despite the clinical benefits of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the prospect of life-long antiretroviral treatment poses significant problems, which has spurred interest in developing new drugs and strategies to treat HIV infection and eliminate persistent viral reservoirs. RNAi has emerged as a therapeutic possibility for HIV. We discuss progress in overcoming hurdles to translating transient and stable RNAi enabling technologies to clinical application for HIV; covering the past 2 - 3 years. HIV inhibition can be achieved by transfection of chemically or enzymatically synthesized siRNAs or by DNA-based vector systems expressing short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) that are processed intracellularly into siRNA. We compare these approaches, focusing on technical and safety issues that will guide the choice of strategy for clinical use. Introduction of synthetic siRNA into cells or its stable endogenous production using vector-driven shRNA have been shown to suppress HIV replication in vitro and, in some instances, in vivo. Each method has advantages and limitations in terms of ease of delivery, duration of silencing, emergence of escape mutants and potential toxicity. Both appear to have potential as future therapeutics for HIV, once the technical and safety issues of each approach are overcome.

Engineering Cellular Resistance to HIV-1 Infection In Vivo Using a Dual Therapeutic Lentiviral Vector

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Bryan P Burke

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We described earlier a dual-combination anti-HIV type 1 (HIV-1 lentiviral vector (LVsh5/C46 that downregulates CCR5 expression of transduced cells via RNAi and inhibits HIV-1 fusion via cell surface expression of cell membrane-anchored C46 antiviral peptide. This combinatorial approach has two points of inhibition for R5-tropic HIV-1 and is also active against X4-tropic HIV-1. Here, we utilize the humanized bone marrow, liver, thymus (BLT mouse model to characterize the in vivo efficacy of LVsh5/C46 (Cal-1 vector to engineer cellular resistance to HIV-1 pathogenesis. Human CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC either nonmodified or transduced with LVsh5/C46 vector were transplanted to generate control and treatment groups, respectively. Control and experimental groups displayed similar engraftment and multilineage hematopoietic differentiation that included robust CD4+ T-cell development. Splenocytes isolated from the treatment group were resistant to both R5- and X4-tropic HIV-1 during ex vivo challenge experiments. Treatment group animals challenged with R5-tropic HIV-1 displayed significant protection of CD4+ T-cells and reduced viral load within peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues up to 14 weeks postinfection. Gene-marking and transgene expression were confirmed stable at 26 weeks post-transplantation. These data strongly support the use of LVsh5/C46 lentiviral vector in gene and cell therapeutic applications for inhibition of HIV-1 infection.

Prospects for Foamy Viral Vector Anti-HIV Gene Therapy

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Arun K. Nalla

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Stem cell gene therapy approaches for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV infection have been explored in clinical trials and several anti-HIV genes delivered by retroviral vectors were shown to block HIV replication. However, gammaretroviral and lentiviral based retroviral vectors have limitations for delivery of anti-HIV genes into hematopoietic stem cells (HSC. Foamy virus vectors have several advantages including efficient delivery of transgenes into HSC in large animal models, and a potentially safer integration profile. This review focuses on novel anti-HIV transgenes and the potential of foamy virus vectors for HSC gene therapy of HIV.

Adenoviral gene delivery to primary human cutaneous cells and burn wounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsch, Tobias; von Peter, Sebastian; Dubin, Grzegorz; Mittler, Dominik; Jacobsen, Frank; Lehnhardt, Markus; Eriksson, Elof; Steinau, Hans-Ulrich; Steinstraesser, Lars

2006-01-01

The adenoviral transfer of therapeutic genes into epidermal and dermal cells is an interesting approach to treat skin diseases and to promote wound healing. The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro and in vivo transfection efficacy in skin and burn wounds after adenoviral gene delivery. Primary keratinocytes (HKC), fibroblasts (HFB), and HaCaT cells were transfected using different concentrations of an adenoviral construct (eGFP). Transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity was determined up to 30 days. Expression was quantified by FACS analysis and fluorimeter. Cytotoxicity was measured using the trypan blue exclusion method. 45 male Sprague Dawley rats received 2x10(8) pfu of Ad5-CMV-LacZ or carrier control intradermally into either superficial partial thickness scald burn or unburned skin. Animals were euthanized after 48 h, 7 or 14 days posttreatment. Transgene expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry and bioluminescent assays. The highest transfection rate was observed 48 h posttransfection: 79% for HKC, 70% for HFB, and 48% for HaCaT. The eGFP expression was detectable in all groups over 30 days (P>0.05). Cytotoxic effects of the adenoviral vector were observed for HFB after 10 days and HaCaT after 30 days. Reporter gene expression in vivo was significantly higher in burned skin compared with unburned skin (P=0,004). Gene expression decreases from 2 to 7 days with no significant expression after 14 days. This study demonstrates that effective adenoviral-mediated gene transfer of epidermal primary cells and cell-lines is feasible. Ex vivo gene transfer in epithelial cells might have promise for the use in severely burned patients who receive autologous keratinocyte sheets. Transient cutaneous gene delivery in burn wounds using adenoviral vectors causes significant concentrations in the wound tissue for at least 1 week. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that transient cutaneous adenoviral gene delivery of wound healing promoting factors has

Constitutively Active MAVS Inhibits HIV-1 Replication via Type I Interferon Secretion and Induction of HIV-1 Restriction Factors.

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Sachin Gupta

Full Text Available Type I interferon is known to inhibit HIV-1 replication through the induction of interferon stimulated genes (ISG, including a number of HIV-1 restriction factors. To better understand interferon-mediated HIV-1 restriction, we constructed a constitutively active form of the RIG-I adapter protein MAVS. Constitutive MAVS was generated by fusion of full length MAVS to a truncated form of the Epstein Barr virus protein LMP1 (ΔLMP1. Supernatant from ΔLMP1-MAVS-transfected 293T cells contained high levels of type I interferons and inhibited HIV replication in both TZM-bl and primary human CD4+ T cells. Supernatant from ΔLMP1-MAVS-transfected 293T cells also inhibited replication of VSV-G pseudotyped single cycle SIV in TZM-bl cells, suggesting restriction was post-entry and common to both HIV and SIV. Gene array analysis of ΔLMP1-MAVS-transfected 293T cells and trans-activated CD4+ T cells showed significant upregulation of ISG, including previously characterized HIV restriction factors Viperin, Tetherin, MxB, and ISG56. Interferon blockade studies implicated interferon-beta in this response. In addition to direct viral inhibition, ΔLMP1-MAVS markedly enhanced secretion of IFN-β and IL-12p70 by dendritic cells and the activation and maturation of dendritic cells. Based on this immunostimulatory activity, an adenoviral vector (Ad5 expressing ΔLMP1-MAVS was tested as a molecular adjuvant in an HIV vaccine mouse model. Ad5-Gag antigen combined with Ad5-ΔLMP1-MAVS enhanced control of vaccinia-gag replication in a mouse challenge model, with 4/5 animals showing undetectable virus following challenge. Overall, ΔLMP1-MAVS is a promising reagent to inhibit HIV-1 replication in infected tissues and enhance vaccine-mediated immune responses, while avoiding toxicity associated with systemic type I interferon administration.

Dendritic cells exposed to MVA-based HIV-1 vaccine induce highly functional HIV-1-specific CD8(+ T cell responses in HIV-1-infected individuals.

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Núria Climent

Full Text Available Currently, MVA virus vectors carrying HIV-1 genes are being developed as HIV-1/AIDS prophylactic/therapeutic vaccines. Nevertheless, little is known about the impact of these vectors on human dendritic cells (DC and their capacity to present HIV-1 antigens to human HIV-specific T cells. This study aimed to characterize the interaction of MVA and MVA expressing the HIV-1 genes Env-Gag-Pol-Nef of clade B (referred to as MVA-B in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC and the subsequent processes of HIV-1 antigen presentation and activation of memory HIV-1-specific T lymphocytes. For these purposes, we performed ex vivo assays with MDDC and autologous lymphocytes from asymptomatic HIV-infected patients. Infection of MDDC with MVA-B or MVA, at the optimal dose of 0.3 PFU/MDDC, induced by itself a moderate degree of maturation of MDDC, involving secretion of cytokines and chemokines (IL1-ra, IL-7, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12, IL-15, IL-8, MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, RANTES, IP-10, MIG, and IFN-α. MDDC infected with MVA or MVA-B and following a period of 48 h or 72 h of maturation were able to migrate toward CCL19 or CCL21 chemokine gradients. MVA-B infection induced apoptosis of the infected cells and the resulting apoptotic bodies were engulfed by the uninfected MDDC, which cross-presented HIV-1 antigens to autologous CD8(+ T lymphocytes. MVA-B-infected MDDC co-cultured with autologous T lymphocytes induced a highly functional HIV-specific CD8(+ T cell response including proliferation, secretion of IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α, MIP-1β, MIP-1α, RANTES and IL-6, and strong cytotoxic activity against autologous HIV-1-infected CD4(+ T lymphocytes. These results evidence the adjuvant role of the vector itself (MVA and support the clinical development of prophylactic and therapeutic anti-HIV vaccines based on MVA-B.

Targeted Adenoviral Vector Demonstrates Enhanced Efficacy for In Vivo Gene Therapy of Uterine Leiomyoma.

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Abdelaziz, Mohamed; Sherif, Lotfy; ElKhiary, Mostafa; Nair, Sanjeeta; Shalaby, Shahinaz; Mohamed, Sara; Eziba, Noura; El-Lakany, Mohamed; Curiel, David; Ismail, Nahed; Diamond, Michael P; Al-Hendy, Ayman

2016-04-01

Gene therapy is a potentially effective non-surgical approach for the treatment of uterine leiomyoma. We demonstrated that targeted adenovirus vector, Ad-SSTR-RGD-TK/GCV, was highly effective in selectively inducing apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation of human leiomyoma cells in vitro while sparing normal myometrial cells. An in-vivo study, to compare efficacy and safety of modified adenovirus vector Ad-SSTR-RGD-TK/GCV versus untargeted vector for treatment of leiomyoma. Female nude mice were implanted with rat leiomyoma cells subcutaneously. Then mice were randomized into three groups. Group 1 received Ad-LacZ (marker gene), Group 2 received untargeted Ad-TK, and Group 3 received the targeted Ad-SSTR-RGD-TK. Tumors were measured weekly for 4 weeks. Then mice were sacrificed and tissue samples were collected. Evaluation of markers of apoptosis, proliferation, extracellular matrix, and angiogenesis was performed using Western Blot & Immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was done using ANOVA. Dissemination of adenovirus was assessed by PCR. In comparison with the untargeted vector, the targeted adenoviral vector significantly shrank leiomyoma size (P leiomyoma lesions with both targeted and untargeted adenovirus. Targeted adenovirus, effectively reduces tumor size in leiomyoma without dissemination to other organs. Further evaluation of this localized targeted strategy for gene therapy is needed in appropriate preclinical humanoid animal models in preparation for a future pilot human trial. © The Author(s) 2016.

Eliminating HIV-1 Packaging Sequences from Lentiviral Vector Proviruses Enhances Safety and Expedites Gene Transfer for Gene Therapy.

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Vink, Conrad A; Counsell, John R; Perocheau, Dany P; Karda, Rajvinder; Buckley, Suzanne M K; Brugman, Martijn H; Galla, Melanie; Schambach, Axel; McKay, Tristan R; Waddington, Simon N; Howe, Steven J

2017-08-02

Lentiviral vector genomic RNA requires sequences that partially overlap wild-type HIV-1 gag and env genes for packaging into vector particles. These HIV-1 packaging sequences constitute 19.6% of the wild-type HIV-1 genome and contain functional cis elements that potentially compromise clinical safety. Here, we describe the development of a novel lentiviral vector (LTR1) with a unique genomic structure designed to prevent transfer of HIV-1 packaging sequences to patient cells, thus reducing the total HIV-1 content to just 4.8% of the wild-type genome. This has been achieved by reconfiguring the vector to mediate reverse-transcription with a single strand transfer, instead of the usual two, and in which HIV-1 packaging sequences are not copied. We show that LTR1 vectors offer improved safety in their resistance to remobilization in HIV-1 particles and reduced frequency of splicing into human genes. Following intravenous luciferase vector administration to neonatal mice, LTR1 sustained a higher level of liver transgene expression than an equivalent dose of a standard lentivirus. LTR1 vectors produce reverse-transcription products earlier and start to express transgenes significantly quicker than standard lentiviruses after transduction. Finally, we show that LTR1 is an effective lentiviral gene therapy vector as demonstrated by correction of a mouse hemophilia B model. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Efficient Gene Delivery to Pig Airway Epithelia and Submucosal Glands Using Helper-Dependent Adenoviral Vectors

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Huibi Cao

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Airway gene delivery is a promising strategy to treat patients with life-threatening lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF. However, this strategy has to be evaluated in large animal preclinical studies in order to translate it to human applications. Because of anatomic and physiological similarities between the human and pig lungs, we utilized pig as a large animal model to examine the safety and efficiency of airway gene delivery with helper-dependent adenoviral vectors. Helper-dependent vectors carrying human CFTR or reporter gene LacZ were aerosolized intratracheally into pigs under bronchoscopic guidance. We found that the LacZ reporter and hCFTR transgene products were efficiently expressed in lung airway epithelial cells. The transgene vectors with this delivery can also reach to submucosal glands. Moreover, the hCFTR transgene protein localized to the apical membrane of both ciliated and nonciliated epithelial cells, mirroring the location of wild-type CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR. Aerosol delivery procedure was well tolerated by pigs without showing systemic toxicity based on the limited number of pigs tested. These results provide important insights into developing clinical strategies for human CF lung gene therapy.

Priming of CD8 T Cells by Adenoviral Vectors Is Critically Dependent on B7 and Dendritic Cells but Only Partially Dependent on CD28 Ligation on CD8 T Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Karen N; Steffensen, Maria A; Christensen, Jan P

2014-01-01

expression resulted in a delayed primary response, whereas memory CD8 T cells generated in CD28-deficient mice appeared almost normal in terms of both phenotype and effector cytokine profile, but they exhibited a significantly reduced proliferative capacity upon secondary challenge while retaining immediate...... in vivo effector capabilities: in vivo cytotoxicity and short-term in vivo protective capacity. Overall, our data point to an absolute requirement for professional APCs and the expression of the costimulatory molecules CD80/86 for efficient CD8 T cell priming by adenoviral vectors. Additionally, our......Adenoviral vectors have long been forerunners in the development of effective CD8 T cell-based vaccines; therefore, it is imperative that we understand the factors controlling the induction of robust and long-lasting transgene-specific immune responses by these vectors. In this study, we...

Reversal of experimental colitis disease activity in mice following administration of an adenoviral IL-10 vector.

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Sasaki, Makoto; Mathis, J Michael; Jennings, Merilyn H; Jordan, Paul; Wang, Yuping; Ando, Tomoaki; Joh, Takashi; Alexander, J Steven

2005-10-31

Genetic deficiency in the expression of interleukin-10 (IL-10) is associated with the onset and progression of experimental inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The clinical significance of IL-10 expression is supported by studies showing that immune-augmentation of IL-10 prevents inflammation and mucosal damage in animal models of colitis and in human colitis. Interleukin-10 (IL-10), an endogenous anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating cytokine, has been shown to prevent some inflammation and injury in animal and clinical studies, but the efficacy of IL-10 treatment remains unsatisfactory. We found that intra-peritoneal administration of adenoviral IL-10 to mice significantly reversed colitis induced by administration of 3% DSS (dextran sulfate), a common model of colitis. Adenoviral IL-10 (Ad-IL10) transfected mice developed high levels of IL-10 (394 +/- 136 pg/ml) within the peritoneal cavity where the adenovirus was expressed. Importantly, when given on day 4 (after the induction of colitis w/DSS), Ad-IL10 significantly reduced disease activity and weight loss and completely prevented histopathologic injury to the colon at day 10. Mechanistically, compared to Ad-null and DSS treated mice, Ad-IL10 and DSS-treated mice were able to suppress the expression of MAdCAM-1, an endothelial adhesion molecule associated with IBD. Our results suggest that Ad-IL10 (adenoviral IL-10) gene therapy of the intestine or peritoneum may be useful in the clinical treatment of IBD, since we demonstrated that this vector can reverse the course of an existing gut inflammation and markers of inflammation.

Reversal of experimental colitis disease activity in mice following administration of an adenoviral IL-10 vector

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Ando Tomoaki

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Genetic deficiency in the expression of interleukin-10 (IL-10 is associated with the onset and progression of experimental inflammatory bowel disease (IBD. The clinical significance of IL-10 expression is supported by studies showing that immune-augmentation of IL-10 prevents inflammation and mucosal damage in animal models of colitis and in human colitis. Interleukin-10 (IL-10, an endogenous anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating cytokine, has been shown to prevent some inflammation and injury in animal and clinical studies, but the efficacy of IL-10 treatment remains unsatisfactory. We found that intra-peritoneal administration of adenoviral IL-10 to mice significantly reversed colitis induced by administration of 3% DSS (dextran sulfate, a common model of colitis. Adenoviral IL-10 (Ad-IL10 transfected mice developed high levels of IL-10 (394 +/- 136 pg/ml within the peritoneal cavity where the adenovirus was expressed. Importantly, when given on day 4 (after the induction of colitis w/DSS, Ad-IL10 significantly reduced disease activity and weight loss and completely prevented histopathologic injury to the colon at day 10. Mechanistically, compared to Ad-null and DSS treated mice, Ad-IL10 and DSS-treated mice were able to suppress the expression of MAdCAM-1, an endothelial adhesion molecule associated with IBD. Our results suggest that Ad-IL10 (adenoviral IL-10 gene therapy of the intestine or peritoneum may be useful in the clinical treatment of IBD, since we demonstrated that this vector can reverse the course of an existing gut inflammation and markers of inflammation.

Quantitative comparison of HTLV-1 and HIV-1 cell-to-cell infection with new replication dependent vectors.

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Dmitriy Mazurov

2010-02-01

Full Text Available We have developed an efficient method to quantify cell-to-cell infection with single-cycle, replication dependent reporter vectors. This system was used to examine the mechanisms of infection with HTLV-1 and HIV-1 vectors in lymphocyte cell lines. Effector cells transfected with reporter vector, packaging vector, and Env expression plasmid produced virus-like particles that transduced reporter gene activity into cocultured target cells with zero background. Reporter gene expression was detected exclusively in target cells and required an Env-expression plasmid and a viral packaging vector, which provided essential structural and enzymatic proteins for virus replication. Cell-cell fusion did not contribute to infection, as reporter protein was rarely detected in syncytia. Coculture of transfected Jurkat T cells and target Raji/CD4 B cells enhanced HIV-1 infection two fold and HTLV-1 infection ten thousand fold in comparison with cell-free infection of Raji/CD4 cells. Agents that interfere with actin and tubulin polymerization strongly inhibited HTLV-1 and modestly decreased HIV-1 cell-to-cell infection, an indication that cytoskeletal remodeling was more important for HTLV-1 transmission. Time course studies showed that HTLV-1 transmission occurred very rapidly after cell mixing, whereas slower kinetics of HIV-1 coculture infection implies a different mechanism of infectious transmission. HTLV-1 Tax was demonstrated to play an important role in altering cell-cell interactions that enhance virus infection and replication. Interestingly, superantigen-induced synapses between Jurkat cells and Raji/CD4 cells did not enhance infection for either HTLV-1 or HIV-1. In general, the dependence on cell-to-cell infection was determined by the virus, the effector and target cell types, and by the nature of the cell-cell interaction.

Tailored HIV-1 vectors for genetic modification of primary human dendritic cells and monocytes.

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Durand, Stéphanie; Nguyen, Xuan-Nhi; Turpin, Jocelyn; Cordeil, Stephanie; Nazaret, Nicolas; Croze, Séverine; Mahieux, Renaud; Lachuer, Joël; Legras-Lachuer, Catherine; Cimarelli, Andrea

2013-01-01

Monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDCs) play a key role in the regulation of the immune system and are the target of numerous gene therapy applications. The genetic modification of MDDCs is possible with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-derived lentiviral vectors (LVs) but requires high viral doses to bypass their natural resistance to viral infection, and this in turn affects their physiological properties. To date, a single viral protein is able to counter this restrictive phenotype, Vpx, a protein derived from members of the HIV-2/simian immunodeficiency virus SM lineage that counters at least two restriction factors present in myeloid cells. By tagging Vpx with a short heterologous membrane-targeting domain, we have obtained HIV-1 LVs incorporating high levels of this protein (HIV-1-Src-Vpx). These vectors efficiently transduce differentiated MDDCs and monocytes either as previously purified populations or as populations within unsorted peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In addition, these vectors can be efficiently pseudotyped with receptor-specific envelopes, further restricting their cellular tropism almost uniquely to MDDCs. Compared to conventional HIV-1 LVs, these novel vectors allow for an efficient genetic modification of MDDCs and, more importantly, do not cause their maturation or affect their survival, which are unwanted side effects of the transduction process. This study describes HIV-1-Src-Vpx LVs as a novel potent tool for the genetic modification of differentiated MDDCs and of circulating monocyte precursors with strong potential for a wide range of gene therapy applications.

Induction of Human Somatostatin Receptor Subtype 2 on Breast Tumors with an Adenoviral Vector for Their Treatment and Detection with a Radiolabeled Peptide

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Rogers, Buck

2002-01-01

.... An adenoviral vector encoding the human somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (AdSSTr2) has been produced. The MDA- MB-468 and BT-474 human breast cancer cells were infected with AdSSTr2 and harvested 48 h later for membrane preparations...

Adenoviral vector-mediated expression of B-50/GAP-43 induces alterations in the membrane organization of olfactory axon terminals in vivo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holtmaat, Anthony J D G; Hermens, W.T.J.M.C.; Sonnemans, M.A.F.; Giger, Roman J; Van Leeuwen, F W; Kaplitt, M G; Oestreicher, A B; Gispen, Willem Hendrik; Verhaagen, J

1997-01-01

B-50/GAP-43 is an intraneuronal membrane-associated growth cone protein with an important role in axonal growth and regeneration. By using adenoviral vector-directed expression of B-50/GAP-43 we studied the morphogenic action of B-50/GAP-43 in mature primary olfactory neurons that have established

Adenoviral protein V promotes a process of viral assembly through nucleophosmin 1

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Ugai, Hideyo; Dobbins, George C.; Wang, Minghui [Division of Human Gene Therapy, Departments of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, and Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); Le, Long P. [Massachusetts General Hospital, Pathology Service, 55 Fruit St.-GRJ 249, Boston, MA 02114 (United States); Matthews, David A. [School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Medical Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD (United Kingdom); Curiel, David T., E-mail: dcuriel@radonc.wustl.edu [Division of Human Gene Therapy, Departments of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, and Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States); The Gene Therapy Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 (United States)

2012-10-25

Adenoviral infection induces nucleoplasmic redistribution of a nucleolar nucleophosmin 1/NPM1/B23.1. NPM1 is preferentially localized in the nucleoli of normal cells, whereas it is also present at the nuclear matrix in cancer cells. However, the biological roles of NPM1 during infection are unknown. Here, by analyzing a pV-deletion mutant, Ad5-dV/TSB, we demonstrate that pV promotes the NPM1 translocation from the nucleoli to the nucleoplasm in normal cells, and the NPM1 translocation is correlated with adenoviral replication. Lack of pV causes a dramatic reduction of adenoviral replication in normal cells, but not cancer cells, and Ad5-dV/TSB was defective in viral assembly in normal cells. NPM1 knockdown inhibits adenoviral replication, suggesting an involvement of NPM1 in adenoviral biology. Further, we show that NPM1 interacts with empty adenovirus particles which are an intermediate during virion maturation by immunoelectron microscopy. Collectively, these data implicate that pV participates in a process of viral assembly through NPM1.

Hexon-modified recombinant E1-deleted adenoviral vectors as bivalent vaccine carriers for Coxsackievirus A16 and Enterovirus 71.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chao; Yang, Yong; Chi, Yudan; Yin, Jieyun; Yan, Lijun; Ku, Zhiqiang; Liu, Qingwei; Huang, Zhong; Zhou, Dongming

2015-09-22

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a major public health concern in Asia; more efficient vaccines against HFMD are urgently required. Adenoviral (Ad) capsids have been used widely for the presentation of foreign antigens to induce specific immune responses in the host. Here, we describe a novel bivalent vaccine for HFMD based on the hexon-modified, E1-deleted chimpanzee adenovirus serotype 68 (AdC68). The novel vaccine candidate was generated by incorporating the neutralising epitope of Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16), PEP71, into hypervariable region 1 (HVR1), and a shortened neutralising epitope of Enterovirus 71 (EV71), sSP70, into HVR2 of the AdC68 hexon. In order to enhance the immunogenicity of EV71, VP1 of EV71 was cloned into the E1-region of the AdC68 vectors. The results demonstrated that these two epitopes were well presented on the virion surface and had high affinity towards specific antibodies, and VP1 of EV71 was also significantly expressed. In pre-clinical mouse models, the hexon-modified AdC68 elicited neutralising antibodies against both CA16 and EV71, which conferred protection to suckling mice against a lethal challenge of CA16 and EV71. In summary, this study demonstrates that the hexon-modified AdC68 may represent a promising bivalent vaccine carrier against EV71 and CA16 and an epitope-display platform for other pathogens. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prophylactic and therapeutic adenoviral vector-based multivirus-specific T-cell immunotherapy for transplant patients

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Vijayendra Dasari

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Viral infections including cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, adenovirus, and BK virus are a common and predictable problem in transplant recipients. While cellular immune therapies have been successfully used to tackle infectious complications in transplant recipients, manufacturing immunotherapies to address the multitude of possible pathogens can be technically challenging and labor-intensive. Here we describe a novel adenoviral antigen presentation platform (Ad-MvP as a tool for rapid generation of multivirus-specific T-cells in a single step. Ad-MvP encodes 32 CD8+ T-cell epitopes from cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, adenovirus, and BK virus as a contiguous polyepitope. We demonstrate that Ad-MvP vector can be successfully used for rapid in vitro expansion of multivirus-specific T-cells from transplant recipients and in vivo priming of antiviral T-cell immunity. Most importantly, using an in vivo murine model of Epstein-Barr virus-induced lymphoma, we also show that adoptive immunotherapy with Ad-MvP expanded autologous and allogeneic multivirus-specific T-cells is highly effective in controlling Epstein-Barr virus tumor outgrowth and improving overall survival. We propose that Ad-MvP has wide ranging therapeutic applications in greatly facilitating in vivo priming of antiviral T-cells, the generation of third-party T-cell banks as “off-the-shelf” therapeutics as well as autologous T-cell therapies for transplant patients.

Toxicity and biodistribution of a first-generation recombinant adenoviral vector, in the presence of hydroxychloroquine, following retroductal delivery to a single rat submandibular gland

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zheng, C.; Voutetakis, A.; Kok, M. R.; Goldsmith, C. M.; Smith, G. B. J.; Elmore, S.; Nyska, A.; Vallant, M.; Irwin, R. D.; Baum, B. J.

2006-01-01

We examined the toxicity and biodistribution associated with a single administration of a first-generation, serotype 5, adenoviral vector encoding human growth hormone (hGH; AdCMVhGH) to a single rat submandibular gland in the presence of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). Previously, we showed that hGH is

Introduction of optical reporter gene into cancer and immune cells using lentiviral vector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Min, Jung Joon; Le, Uyenchi N.; Moon, Sung Min; Heo, Young Jun; Song, Ho Chun; Bom, Hee Seung; Kim, Yeon Soo

2004-01-01

For some applications such as gene therapy or reporter gene imaging, a gene has to be introduced into the organism of interest. Adenoviral vectors are capable of transducing both replicating and non-dividing cells. The adenoviral vectors do not integrate their DNA into host DNA, but do lead to an immune response. Lentiviruses belong to the retrovirus family and are capable of infecting both dividing and non-dividing cells. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an example of a lentavirus. A disabled HIV virus has been developed and could be used for in vivo gene delivery. A portion of the viral genome which encodes for accessory proteins canbe deleted without affecting production of the vector and efficiency of infection. Lentiviral delivery into various rodent tissues shows sustained expression of the transgene of up to six months. Furthermore, there seems to be little or no immune response with these vectors. These lentiviral vectors hold significant promise for in vivo gene delivery. We constructed lentiviral vector encoding firefly luciferase (Fluc) and eGFP. Fluc-eGFP fusion gene was inserted into multiple cloning sites of pLentiM1.3 vector. Reporter gene (Fluc-eGFP) was designed to be driven by murine CMV promoter with enhanced efficacy of transgene expression as compared to human CMV promoter. We transfected pLenti1.3-Fluc into human cervix cancer cell line (HeLa) and murine T lymphocytes. We also constructed adenovirus encoding Fluc and transfected to HeLa and T cells. This LentiM1.3-Fluc was transfected into HeLa cells and murine T lymphocytes in vitro, showing consistent expression of eGFP under the fluorescence microscopy from the 2nd day of transfection. Firefly luciferase reporter gene was not expressed in immune cells when it is mediated by adenovirus. Lentivirus was validated as a useful vector for both immune and cancer cells

HIV-1 resistance conferred by siRNA cosuppression of CXCR4 and CCR5 coreceptors by a bispecific lentiviral vector

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Akkina Ramesh

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background RNA interference (RNAi mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs has proved to be a highly effective gene silencing mechanism with great potential for HIV/AIDS gene therapy. Previous work with siRNAs against cellular coreceptors CXCR4 and CCR5 had shown that down regulation of these surface molecules could prevent HIV-1 entry and confer viral resistance. Since monospecific siRNAs targeting individual coreceptors are inadequate in protecting against both T cell tropic (X4 and monocyte tropic (R5 viral strains simultaneously, bispecific constructs with dual specificity are required. For effective long range therapy, the bispecific constructs need to be stably transduced into HIV-1 target cells via integrating viral vectors. Results To achieve this goal, lentiviral vectors incorporating both CXCR4 and CCR5 siRNAs of short hairpin design were constructed. The CXCR4 siRNA was driven by a U6 promoter whereas the CCR5 siRNA was driven by an H1 promoter. A CMV promoter driven EGFP reporter gene is also incorporated in the bispecific construct. High efficiency transduction into coreceptor expressing Magi and Ghost cell lines with a concomitant down regulation of respective coreceptors was achieved with lentiviral vectors. When the siRNA expressing transduced cells were challenged with X4 and R5 tropic HIV-1, they demonstrated marked viral resistance. HIV-1 resistance was also observed in bispecific lentiviral vector transduced primary PBMCs. Conclusions Both CXCR4 and CCR5 coreceptors could be simultaneously targeted for down regulation by a single combinatorial lentiviral vector incorporating respective anti-coreceptor siRNAs. Stable down regulation of both the coreceptors protects cells against infection by both X4 and R5 tropic HIV-1. Stable down regulation of cellular molecules that aid in HIV-1 infection will be an effective strategy for long range HIV gene therapy.

Imaging expression of adenoviral HSV1-tk suicide gene transfer using the nucleoside analogue FIRU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanda, Dharmin; Jong, Marion de; Bakker, Willem; Bijster, Magda; Cox, Peter; Vogels, Ronald; Havenga, Menzo; Driesse, Maarten; Avezaat, Cees; Morin, Kevin; Naimi, Ebrahim; Knaus, Edward; Wiebe, Leonard; Smitt, Peter Sillevis

2002-01-01

Substrates for monitoring HSV1-tk gene expression include uracil and acycloguanosine derivatives.The most commonly used uracil derivative to monitor HSV1-tk gene transfer is 1-(2-fluoro-2-deoxy-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-[*I]iodouracil (fialuridine; I*-FIAU), where the asterisk denotes any of the radioactive iodine isotopes that can be used. We have previously studied other nucleosides with imaging properties as good as or better than FIAU, including 1-(2-fluoro-2-deoxy-β-D-ribofuranosyl)-5-[*I]iodouracil (FIRU). The first aim of this study was to extend the biodistribution data of 123 I-labelled FIRU. Secondly, we assessed the feasibility of detecting differences in HSV1-tk gene expression levels following adenoviral gene transfer in vivo with 123 I-FIRU. 9L rat gliosarcoma cells were stably transfected with the HSV1-tk gene (9L-tk+). 123 I-FIRU was prepared by radioiodination of 1-(2-fluoro-2-deoxy-β-D-ribofuranosyl)-5-tributylstannyl uracil (FTMRSU; precursor compound) and purified using an activated Sep-Pak column. Incubation of 9L-tk+ cells and the parental 9L cells with 123 I-FIRU resulted in a 100-fold higher accumulation of radioactivity in the 9L-tk+ cells after an optimum incubation time of 4 h. NIH-bg-nu-xid mice were then inoculated subcutaneously with HSV1-tk (-) 9L cells or HSV1-tk (+) 9L-tk+ cells into both flanks. Biodistribution studies and gamma camera imaging were performed at 15 min and 1, 2, 4 and 24 h p.i. At 15 min, the tumour/muscle, tumour/blood and tumour/brain ratios were 5.2, 1.0 and 30.3 respectively. Rapid renal clearance of the tracer from the body resulted in increasing tumour/muscle, tumour/blood and tumour/brain ratios, reaching values of 32.2, 12.5 and 171.6 at 4 h p.i. A maximum specific activity of 22%ID/g tissue was reached in the 9L-tk+ tumours 4 h after 123 I-FIRU injection. Two Ad5-based adenoviral vectors containing the HSV1-tk gene were constructed: a replication-incompetent vector with the transgene in the former E1

Radiation-Induced Upregulation of Gene Expression From Adenoviral Vectors Mediated by DNA Damage Repair and Regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nokisalmi, Petri; Rajecki, Maria; Pesonen, Sari; Escutenaire, Sophie; Soliymani, Rabah; Tenhunen, Mikko; Ahtiainen, Laura; Hemminki, Akseli

2012-01-01

Purpose: In the present study, we evaluated the combination of replication-deficient adenoviruses and radiotherapy in vitro. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the mechanism of radiation-mediated upregulation of adenoviral transgene expression. Methods and Materials: Adenoviral transgene expression (luciferase or green fluorescent protein) was studied with and without radiation in three cell lines: breast cancer M4A4-LM3, prostate cancer PC-3MM2, and lung cancer LNM35/enhanced green fluorescent protein. The effect of the radiation dose, modification of the viral capsid, and five different transgene promoters were studied. The cellular responses were studied using mass spectrometry and immunofluorescence analysis. Double strand break repair was modulated by inhibitors of heat shock protein 90, topoisomerase-I, and DNA protein kinase, and transgene expression was measured. Results: We found that a wide range of radiation doses increased adenoviral transgene expression regardless of the cell line, transgene, promoter, or viral capsid modification. Treatment with adenovirus, radiation, and double strand break repair inhibitors resulted in persistence of double strand breaks and subsequent increases in adenovirus transgene expression. Conclusions: Radiation-induced enhancement of adenoviral transgene expression is linked to DNA damage recognition and repair. Radiation induces a global cellular response that results in increased production of RNA and proteins, including adenoviral transgene products. This study provides a mechanistic rationale for combining radiation with adenoviral gene delivery.

Adenoviral vectors for highly selective gene expression in central serotonergic neurons reveal quantal characteristics of serotonin release in the rat brain

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Teschemacher Anja G

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background 5-hydroxytryptamine (5 HT, serotonin is one of the key neuromodulators in mammalian brain, but many fundamental properties of serotonergic neurones and 5 HT release remain unknown. The objective of this study was to generate an adenoviral vector system for selective targeting of serotonergic neurones and apply it to study quantal characteristics of 5 HT release in the rat brain. Results We have generated adenoviral vectors which incorporate a 3.6 kb fragment of the rat tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH-2 gene which selectively (97% co-localisation with TPH-2 target raphe serotonergic neurones. In order to enhance the level of expression a two-step transcriptional amplification strategy was employed. This allowed direct visualization of serotonergic neurones by EGFP fluorescence. Using these vectors we have performed initial characterization of EGFP-expressing serotonergic neurones in rat organotypic brain slice cultures. Fluorescent serotonergic neurones were identified and studied using patch clamp and confocal Ca2+ imaging and had features consistent with those previously reported using post-hoc identification approaches. Fine processes of serotonergic neurones could also be visualized in un-fixed tissue and morphometric analysis suggested two putative types of axonal varicosities. We used micro-amperometry to analyse the quantal characteristics of 5 HT release and found that central 5 HT exocytosis occurs predominantly in quanta of ~28000 molecules from varicosities and ~34000 molecules from cell bodies. In addition, in somata, we observed a minority of large release events discharging on average ~800000 molecules. Conclusion For the first time quantal release of 5 HT from somato-dendritic compartments and axonal varicosities in mammalian brain has been demonstrated directly and characterised. Release from somato-dendritic and axonal compartments might have different physiological functions. Novel vectors generated in this

Highly efficient retrograde gene transfer into motor neurons by a lentiviral vector pseudotyped with fusion glycoprotein.

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Miyabi Hirano

Full Text Available The development of gene therapy techniques to introduce transgenes that promote neuronal survival and protection provides effective therapeutic approaches for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Intramuscular injection of adenoviral and adeno-associated viral vectors, as well as lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with rabies virus glycoprotein (RV-G, permits gene delivery into motor neurons in animal models for motor neuron diseases. Recently, we developed a vector with highly efficient retrograde gene transfer (HiRet by pseudotyping a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1-based vector with fusion glycoprotein B type (FuG-B or a variant of FuG-B (FuG-B2, in which the cytoplasmic domain of RV-G was replaced by the corresponding part of vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G. We have also developed another vector showing neuron-specific retrograde gene transfer (NeuRet with fusion glycoprotein C type, in which the short C-terminal segment of the extracellular domain and transmembrane/cytoplasmic domains of RV-G was substituted with the corresponding regions of VSV-G. These two vectors afford the high efficiency of retrograde gene transfer into different neuronal populations in the brain. Here we investigated the efficiency of the HiRet (with FuG-B2 and NeuRet vectors for retrograde gene transfer into motor neurons in the spinal cord and hindbrain in mice after intramuscular injection and compared it with the efficiency of the RV-G pseudotype of the HIV-1-based vector. The main highlight of our results is that the HiRet vector shows the most efficient retrograde gene transfer into both spinal cord and hindbrain motor neurons, offering its promising use as a gene therapeutic approach for the treatment of motor neuron diseases.

Biological activity and safety of adenoviral vector-expressed wild-type p53 after intratumoral injection in melanoma and breast cancer patients with p53-overexpressing tumors

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Dummer, R; Bergh, J; Karlsson, Y; Horovitz, JA; Mulder, NH; Huinin, DT; Burg, G; Hofbauer, G; Osanto, S

p53 mutations are common genetic alterations in human cancer. Gene transfer of a wild-type (wt) p53 gene reverses the loss of normal p53 function in vitro and in vivo. A phase I dose escalation study of single intratumoral (i.t.) injection of a replication-defective adenoviral expression vector

Comparison Between Several Integrase-defective Lentiviral Vectors Reveals Increased Integration of an HIV Vector Bearing a D167H Mutant

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Muhammad Qamar Saeed

2014-01-01

Full Text Available HIV-1 derived vectors are among the most efficient for gene transduction in mammalian tissues. As the parent virus, they carry out vector genome insertion into the host cell chromatin. Consequently, their preferential integration in transcribed genes raises several conceptual and safety issues. To address part of these questions, HIV-derived vectors have been engineered to be nonintegrating. This was mainly achieved by mutating HIV-1 integrase at functional hotspots of the enzyme enabling the development of streamlined nuclear DNA circles functional for transgene expression. Few integrase mutant vectors have been successfully tested so far for gene transfer. They are cleared with time in mitotic cells, but stable within nondividing retina cells or neurons. Here, we compared six HIV vectors carrying different integrases, either wild type or with different mutations (D64V, D167H, Q168A, K186Q+Q214L+Q216L, and RRK262-264AAH shown to modify integrase enzymatic activity, oligomerization, or interaction with key cellular cofactor of HIV DNA integration as LEDGF/p75 or TNPO3. We show that these mutations differently affect the transduction efficiency as well as rates and patterns of integration of HIV-derived vectors suggesting their different processing in the nucleus. Surprisingly and most interestingly, we report that an integrase carrying the D167H substitution improves vector transduction efficiency and integration in both HEK-293T and primary CD34+ cells.

Electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) based real-time measurement of titer dependent cytotoxicity induced by adenoviral vectors in an IPI-2I cell culture model.

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Müller, Jakob; Thirion, Christian; Pfaffl, Michael W

2011-01-15

Recombinant viral vectors are widespread tools for transfer of genetic material in various modern biotechnological applications like for example RNA interference (RNAi). However, an accurate and reproducible titer assignment represents the basic step for most downstream applications regarding a precise multiplicity of infection (MOI) adjustment. As necessary scaffold for the studies described in this work we introduce a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) based approach for viral particle measurement. Still an implicated problem concerning physiological effects is that the appliance of viral vectors is often attended by toxic effects on the individual target. To determine the critical viral dose leading to cell death we developed an electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) based assay. With ECIS technology the impedance change of a current flow through the cell culture medium in an array plate is measured in a non-invasive manner, visualizing effects like cell attachment, cell-cell contacts or proliferation. Here we describe the potential of this online measurement technique in an in vitro model using the porcine ileal epithelial cell line IPI-2I in combination with an adenoviral transfection vector (Ad5-derivate). This approach shows a clear dose-depending toxic effect, as the amount of applied virus highly correlates (p<0.001) with the level of cell death. Thus this assay offers the possibility to discriminate the minimal non-toxic dose of the individual transfection method. In addition this work suggests that the ECIS-device bears the feasibility to transfer this assay to multiple other cytotoxicological questions. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Imaging expression of adenoviral HSV1-tk suicide gene transfer using the nucleoside analogue FIRU

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Nanda, Dharmin [Department of Neurology, Daniel den Hoed Cancer Centre, University Hospital Rotterdam (Netherlands); Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Rotterdam (Netherlands); Jong, Marion de; Bakker, Willem; Bijster, Magda; Cox, Peter [Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Rotterdam (Netherlands); Vogels, Ronald; Havenga, Menzo [Crucell Holland BV, Leiden (Netherlands); Driesse, Maarten; Avezaat, Cees [Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Rotterdam (Netherlands); Morin, Kevin; Naimi, Ebrahim; Knaus, Edward; Wiebe, Leonard [Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton (Canada); Smitt, Peter Sillevis [Department of Neurology, Daniel den Hoed Cancer Centre, University Hospital Rotterdam (Netherlands)

2002-07-01

Substrates for monitoring HSV1-tk gene expression include uracil and acycloguanosine derivatives.The most commonly used uracil derivative to monitor HSV1-tk gene transfer is 1-(2-fluoro-2-deoxy-{beta}-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-[*I]iodouracil (fialuridine; I*-FIAU), where the asterisk denotes any of the radioactive iodine isotopes that can be used. We have previously studied other nucleosides with imaging properties as good as or better than FIAU, including 1-(2-fluoro-2-deoxy-{beta}-D-ribofuranosyl)-5-[*I]iodouracil (FIRU). The first aim of this study was to extend the biodistribution data of {sup 123}I-labelled FIRU. Secondly, we assessed the feasibility of detecting differences in HSV1-tk gene expression levels following adenoviral gene transfer in vivo with {sup 123}I-FIRU. 9L rat gliosarcoma cells were stably transfected with the HSV1-tk gene (9L-tk+). {sup 123}I-FIRU was prepared by radioiodination of 1-(2-fluoro-2-deoxy-{beta}-D-ribofuranosyl)-5-tributylstannyl uracil (FTMRSU; precursor compound) and purified using an activated Sep-Pak column. Incubation of 9L-tk+ cells and the parental 9L cells with {sup 123}I-FIRU resulted in a 100-fold higher accumulation of radioactivity in the 9L-tk+ cells after an optimum incubation time of 4 h. NIH-bg-nu-xid mice were then inoculated subcutaneously with HSV1-tk (-) 9L cells or HSV1-tk (+) 9L-tk+ cells into both flanks. Biodistribution studies and gamma camera imaging were performed at 15 min and 1, 2, 4 and 24 h p.i. At 15 min, the tumour/muscle, tumour/blood and tumour/brain ratios were 5.2, 1.0 and 30.3 respectively. Rapid renal clearance of the tracer from the body resulted in increasing tumour/muscle, tumour/blood and tumour/brain ratios, reaching values of 32.2, 12.5 and 171.6 at 4 h p.i. A maximum specific activity of 22%ID/g tissue was reached in the 9L-tk+ tumours 4 h after {sup 123}I-FIRU injection. Two Ad5-based adenoviral vectors containing the HSV1-tk gene were constructed: a replication-incompetent vector with

Improved innate and adaptive immunostimulation by genetically modified HIV-1 protein expressing NYVAC vectors.

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Esther D Quakkelaar

Full Text Available Attenuated poxviruses are safe and capable of expressing foreign antigens. Poxviruses are applied in veterinary vaccination and explored as candidate vaccines for humans. However, poxviruses express multiple genes encoding proteins that interfere with components of the innate and adaptive immune response. This manuscript describes two strategies aimed to improve the immunogenicity of the highly attenuated, host-range restricted poxvirus NYVAC: deletion of the viral gene encoding type-I interferon-binding protein and development of attenuated replication-competent NYVAC. We evaluated these newly generated NYVAC mutants, encoding HIV-1 env, gag, pol and nef, for their ability to stimulate HIV-specific CD8 T-cell responses in vitro from blood mononuclear cells of HIV-infected subjects. The new vectors were evaluated and compared to the parental NYVAC vector in dendritic cells (DCs, RNA expression arrays, HIV gag expression and cross-presentation assays in vitro. Deletion of type-I interferon-binding protein enhanced expression of interferon and interferon-induced genes in DCs, and increased maturation of infected DCs. Restoration of replication competence induced activation of pathways involving antigen processing and presentation. Also, replication-competent NYVAC showed increased Gag expression in infected cells, permitting enhanced cross-presentation to HIV-specific CD8 T cells and proliferation of HIV-specific memory CD8 T-cells in vitro. The recombinant NYVAC combining both modifications induced interferon-induced genes and genes involved in antigen processing and presentation, as well as increased Gag expression. This combined replication-competent NYVAC is a promising candidate for the next generation of HIV vaccines.

HIV-derived vectors for gene therapy targeting dendritic cells.

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Rossetti, Maura; Cavarelli, Mariangela; Gregori, Silvia; Scarlatti, Gabriella

2013-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-derived lentiviral vectors (LV) have the potential to mediate stable therapeutic gene transfer. However, similarly to other viral vectors, their benefit is compromised by the induction of an immune response toward transgene-expressing cells that closely mimics antiviral immunity. LV share with the parental HIV the ability to activate dendritic cells (DC), while lack the peculiar ability of subverting DC functions, which is responsible for HIV immune escape. Understanding the interaction between LV and DC, with plasmacytoid and myeloid DC playing fundamental and distinct roles, has paved the way to novel approaches aimed at regulating transgene-specific immune responses. Thanks to the ability to target either DC subsets LV might be a powerful tool to induce immunity (i.e., gene therapy of cancer), cell death (i.e., in HIV/AIDS infection), or tolerance (i.e., gene therapy strategies for monogenic diseases). In this chapter, similarities and differences between the LV-mediated and HIV-mediated induction of immune responses, with specific focus on their interactions with DC, are discussed.

Safety and Immunogenicity of a Recombinant Adenovirus Serotype 35-Vectored HIV-1 Vaccine in Adenovirus Serotype 5 Seronegative and Seropositive Individuals.

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Fuchs, Jonathan D; Bart, Pierre-Alexandre; Frahm, Nicole; Morgan, Cecilia; Gilbert, Peter B; Kochar, Nidhi; DeRosa, Stephen C; Tomaras, Georgia D; Wagner, Theresa M; Baden, Lindsey R; Koblin, Beryl A; Rouphael, Nadine G; Kalams, Spyros A; Keefer, Michael C; Goepfert, Paul A; Sobieszczyk, Magdalena E; Mayer, Kenneth H; Swann, Edith; Liao, Hua-Xin; Haynes, Barton F; Graham, Barney S; McElrath, M Juliana

2015-05-01

Recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 (rAd5)-vectored HIV-1 vaccines have not prevented HIV-1 infection or disease and pre-existing Ad5 neutralizing antibodies may limit the clinical utility of Ad5 vectors globally. Using a rare Ad serotype vector, such as Ad35, may circumvent these issues, but there are few data on the safety and immunogenicity of rAd35 directly compared to rAd5 following human vaccination. HVTN 077 randomized 192 healthy, HIV-uninfected participants into one of four HIV-1 vaccine/placebo groups: rAd35/rAd5, DNA/rAd5, and DNA/rAd35 in Ad5-seronegative persons; and DNA/rAd35 in Ad5-seropositive persons. All vaccines encoded the HIV-1 EnvA antigen. Antibody and T-cell responses were measured 4 weeks post boost immunization. All vaccines were generally well tolerated and similarly immunogenic. As compared to rAd5, rAd35 was equally potent in boosting HIV-1-specific humoral and cellular immunity and responses were not significantly attenuated in those with baseline Ad5 seropositivity. Like DNA, rAd35 efficiently primed rAd5 boosting. All vaccine regimens tested elicited cross-clade antibody responses, including Env V1/V2-specific IgG responses. Vaccine antigen delivery by rAd35 is well-tolerated and immunogenic as a prime to rAd5 immunization and as a boost to prior DNA immunization with the homologous insert. Further development of rAd35-vectored prime-boost vaccine regimens is warranted.

Micro-computed tomography of pulmonary fibrosis in mice induced by adenoviral gene transfer of biologically active transforming growth factor-β1

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Gauldie Jack

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT is a novel tool for monitoring acute and chronic disease states in small laboratory animals. Its value for assessing progressive lung fibrosis in mice has not been reported so far. Here we examined the importance of in vivo micro-CT as non-invasive tool to assess progression of pulmonary fibrosis in mice over time. Methods Pulmonary fibrosis was induced in mice by intratracheal delivery of an adenoviral gene vector encoding biologically active TGF-ß1 (AdTGF-ß1. Respiratory gated and ungated micro-CT scans were performed at 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks post pulmonary adenoviral gene or control vector delivery, and were then correlated with respective histopathology-based Ashcroft scoring of pulmonary fibrosis in mice. Visual assessment of image quality and consolidation was performed by 3 observers and a semi-automated quantification algorithm was applied to quantify aerated pulmonary volume as an inverse surrogate marker for pulmonary fibrosis. Results We found a significant correlation between classical Ashcroft scoring and micro-CT assessment using both visual assessment and the semi-automated quantification algorithm. Pulmonary fibrosis could be clearly detected in micro-CT, image quality values were higher for respiratory gated exams, although differences were not significant. For assessment of fibrosis no significant difference between respiratory gated and ungated exams was observed. Conclusions Together, we show that micro-CT is a powerful tool to assess pulmonary fibrosis in mice, using both visual assessment and semi-automated quantification algorithms. These data may be important in view of pre-clinical pharmacologic interventions for the treatment of lung fibrosis in small laboratory animals.

Treatment of osteoarthritis using a helper-dependent adenoviral vector retargeted to chondrocytes

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Merry ZC Ruan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Osteoarthritis (OA is a joint disease characterized by degeneration of the articular cartilage, subchondral bone remodeling, and secondary inflammation. It is among the top three causes of chronic disability, and currently there are no treatment options to prevent disease progression. The localized nature of OA makes it an ideal candidate for gene and cell therapy. However, gene and cell therapy of OA is impeded by inefficient gene transduction of chondrocytes. In this study, we developed a broadly applicable system that retargets cell surface receptors by conjugating antibodies to the capsid of helper-dependent adenoviral vectors (HDVs. Specifically, we applied this system to retarget chondrocytes by conjugating an HDV to an α-10 integrin monoclonal antibody (a10mab. We show that a10mab-conjugated HDV (a10mabHDV-infected chondrocytes efficiently in vitro and in vivo while detargeting other cell types. The therapeutic index of an intra-articular injection of 10mabHDV-expressing proteoglycan 4 (PRG4 into a murine model of post-traumatic OA was 10-fold higher than with standard HDV. Moreover, we show that PRG4 overexpression from articular, superficial zone chondrocytes is effective for chondroprotection in postinjury OA and that α-10 integrin is an effective protein for chondrocyte targeting.

Engineering and Validation of a Vector for Concomitant Expression of Rare Transfer RNA (tRNA and HIV-1 nef Genes in Escherichia coli.

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Siti Aisyah Mualif

Full Text Available Relative ease in handling and manipulation of Escherichia coli strains make them primary candidate to express proteins heterologously. Overexpression of heterologous genes that contain codons infrequently used by E. coli is related with difficulties such as mRNA instability, early termination of transcription and/or translation, deletions and/or misincorporation, and cell growth inhibition. These codon bias -associated problems are addressed by co-expressing ColE1-compatible, rare tRNA expressing helper plasmids. However, this approach has inadequacies, which we have addressed by engineering an expression vector that concomitantly expresses the heterologous protein of interest, and rare tRNA genes in E. coli. The expression vector contains three (argU, ileY, leuW rare tRNA genes and a useful multiple cloning site for easy in-frame cloning. To maintain the overall size of the parental plasmid vector, the rare tRNA genes replaced the non-essential DNA segments in the vector. The cloned gene is expressed under the control of T7 promoter and resulting recombinant protein has a C-terminal 6His tag for IMAC-mediated purification. We have evaluated the usefulness of this expression vector by expressing three HIV-1 genes namely HIV-1 p27 (nef, HIV-1 p24 (ca, and HIV-1 vif in NiCo21(DE3 E.coli and demonstrated the advantages of using expression vector that concomitantly expresses rare tRNA and heterologous genes.

Novel recombinant alphaviral and adenoviral vectors for cancer immunotherapy.

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Osada, Takuya; Morse, Michael A; Hobeika, Amy; Lyerly, H Kim

2012-06-01

Although cellular immunotherapy based on autolgous dendritic cells (DCs) targeting antigens expressed by metastatic cancer has demonstrated clinical efficacy, the logistical challenges in generating an individualized cell product create an imperative to develop alternatives to DC-based cancer vaccines. Particularly attractive alternatives include in situ delivery of antigen and activation signals to resident antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which can be achieved by novel fusion molecules targeting the mannose receptor and by recombinant viral vectors expressing the antigen of interest and capable of infecting DCs. A particular challenge in the use of viral vectors is the well-appreciated clinical obstacles to their efficacy, specifically vector-specific neutralizing immune responses. Because heterologous prime and boost strategies have been demonstrated to be particularly potent, we developed two novel recombinant vectors based on alphaviral replicon particles and a next-generation adenovirus encoding an antigen commonly overexpressed in many human cancers, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The rationale for developing these vectors, their unique characteristics, the preclinical studies and early clinical experience with each, and opportunities to enhance their effectiveness will be reviewed. The potential of each of these potent recombinant vectors to efficiently generate clinically active anti-tumor immune response alone, or in combination, will be discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of an epitope-based HIV-1 vaccine strategy from HIV-1 lipopeptide to dendritic-based vaccines.

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Surenaud, Mathieu; Lacabaratz, Christine; Zurawski, Gérard; Lévy, Yves; Lelièvre, Jean-Daniel

2017-10-01

Development of a safe, effective and globally affordable Human Immunodeficiency Virus strain 1 (HIV-1) vaccine offers the best hope for future control of the HIV-1 pandemic. However, with the exception of the recent RV144 trial, which elicited a modest level of protection against infection, no vaccine candidate has shown efficacy in preventing HIV-1 infection or in controlling virus replication in humans. There is also a great need for a successful immunotherapeutic vaccine since combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) does not eliminate the reservoir of HIV-infected cells. But to date, no vaccine candidate has proven to significantly alter the natural history of an individual with HIV-1 infection. Areas covered: For over 25 years, the ANRS (France Recherche Nord&Sud Sida-HIV hépatites) has been committed to an original program combining basic science and clinical research developing an epitope-based vaccine strategy to induce a multiepitopic cellular response against HIV-1. This review describes the evolution of concepts, based on strategies using HIV-1 lipopeptides towards the use of dendritic cell (DC) manipulation. Expert commentary: Understanding the crucial role of DCs in immune responses allowed moving from the non-specific administration of HIV-1 sequences with lipopeptides to DC-based vaccines. These DC-targeting strategies should improve HIV-1 vaccine efficacy.

Development of oral CTL vaccine using a CTP-integrated Sabin 1 poliovirus-based vector system.

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Han, Seung-Soo; Lee, Jinjoo; Jung, Yideul; Kang, Myeong-Ho; Hong, Jung-Hyub; Cha, Min-Suk; Park, Yu-Jin; Lee, Ezra; Yoon, Cheol-Hee; Bae, Yong-Soo

2015-09-11

We developed a CTL vaccine vector by modification of the RPS-Vax system, a mucosal vaccine vector derived from a poliovirus Sabin 1 strain, and generated an oral CTL vaccine against HIV-1. A DNA fragment encoding a cytoplasmic transduction peptide (CTP) was integrated into the RPS-Vax system to generate RPS-CTP, a CTL vaccine vector. An HIV-1 p24 cDNA fragment was introduced into the RPS-CTP vector system and a recombinant poliovirus (rec-PV) named vRPS-CTP/p24 was produced. vRPS-CTP/p24 was genetically stable and efficiently induced Th1 immunity and p24-specific CTLs in immunized poliovirus receptor-transgenic (PVR-Tg) mice. In challenge experiments, PVR-Tg mice that were pre-immunized orally with vRPS-CTP/p24 were resistant to challenge with a lethal dose of p24-expressing recombinant vaccinia virus (rMVA-p24). These results suggested that the RPS-CTP vector system had potential for developing oral CTL vaccines against infectious diseases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CCR5 Gene Disruption via Lentiviral Vectors Expressing Cas9 and Single Guided RNA Renders Cells Resistant to HIV-1 Infection

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Liu, Jingjing; Zhang, Di; Kimata, Jason T.; Zhou, Paul

2014-01-01

CCR5, a coreceptor for HIV-1 entry, is a major target for drug and genetic intervention against HIV-1. Genetic intervention strategies have knocked down CCR5 expression levels by shRNA or disrupted the CCR5 gene using zinc finger nucleases (ZFN) or Transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN). In the present study, we silenced CCR5 via CRISPR associated protein 9 (Cas9) and single guided RNAs (sgRNAs). We constructed lentiviral vectors expressing Cas9 and CCR5 sgRNAs. We show that a single round transduction of lentiviral vectors expressing Cas9 and CCR5 sgRNAs into HIV-1 susceptible human CD4+ cells yields high frequencies of CCR5 gene disruption. CCR5 gene-disrupted cells are not only resistant to R5-tropic HIV-1, including transmitted/founder (T/F) HIV-1 isolates, but also have selective advantage over CCR5 gene-undisrupted cells during R5-tropic HIV-1 infection. Importantly, using T7 endonuclease I assay we did not detect genome mutations at potential off-target sites that are highly homologous to these CCR5 sgRNAs in stably transduced cells even at 84 days post transduction. Thus we conclude that silencing of CCR5 via Cas9 and CCR5-specific sgRNAs could be a viable alternative strategy for engineering resistance against HIV-1. PMID:25541967

Architectural Insight into Inovirus-Associated Vectors (IAVs and Development of IAV-Based Vaccines Inducing Humoral and Cellular Responses: Implications in HIV-1 Vaccines

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Kyriakos A. Hassapis

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Inovirus-associated vectors (IAVs are engineered, non-lytic, filamentous bacteriophages that are assembled primarily from thousands of copies of the major coat protein gp8 and just five copies of each of the four minor coat proteins gp3, gp6, gp7 and gp9. Inovirus display studies have shown that the architecture of inoviruses makes all coat proteins of the inoviral particle accessible to the outside. This particular feature of IAVs allows foreign antigenic peptides to be displayed on the outer surface of the virion fused to its coat proteins and for more than two decades has been exploited in many applications including antibody or peptide display libraries, drug design, and vaccine development against infectious and non-infectious diseases. As vaccine carriers, IAVs have been shown to elicit both a cellular and humoral response against various pathogens through the display of antibody epitopes on their coat proteins. Despite their high immunogenicity, the goal of developing an effective vaccine against HIV-1 has not yet materialized. One possible limitation of previous efforts was the use of broadly neutralizing antibodies, which exhibited autoreactivity properties. In the past five years, however, new, more potent broadly neutralizing antibodies that do not exhibit autoreactivity properties have been isolated from HIV-1 infected individuals, suggesting that vaccination strategies aimed at producing such broadly neutralizing antibodies may confer protection against infection. The utilization of these new, broadly neutralizing antibodies in combination with the architectural traits of IAVs have driven the current developments in the design of an inovirus-based vaccine against HIV-1. This article reviews the applications of IAVs in vaccine development, with particular emphasis on the design of inoviral-based vaccines against HIV-1.

Development of Novel Adenoviral Vectors to Overcome Challenges Observed With HAdV-5–based Constructs

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Alonso-Padilla, Julio; Papp, Tibor; Kaján, Győző L; Benkő, Mária; Havenga, Menzo; Lemckert, Angelique; Harrach, Balázs; Baker, Andrew H

2016-01-01

Recombinant vectors based on human adenovirus serotype 5 (HAdV-5) have been extensively studied in preclinical models and clinical trials over the past two decades. However, the thorough understanding of the HAdV-5 interaction with human subjects has uncovered major concerns about its product applicability. High vector-associated toxicity and widespread preexisting immunity have been shown to significantly impede the effectiveness of HAdV-5–mediated gene transfer. It is therefore that the in-depth knowledge attained working on HAdV-5 is currently being used to develop alternative vectors. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of data obtained in recent years disqualifying the HAdV-5 vector for systemic gene delivery as well as novel strategies being pursued to overcome the limitations observed with particular emphasis on the ongoing vectorization efforts to obtain vectors based on alternative serotypes. PMID:26478249

Radiolabeled adenoviral sub-unit proteins for molecular imaging and therapeutic applications in oncology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, Suresh C.

2005-01-01

Full text: Our group has initiated investigations on the use of radiolabeled adenoviral (Ad) sub-unit proteins for delivering suitable radionuclides into tumor cells for molecular imaging as well as for combined gene/radionuclide therapy of cancer. A number of issues involved in developing combined gene/radionuclide delivery into tumors mediated by Ad vectors have been identified and are being addressed. Whereas current clinical trials of gene therapy using Ad vectors involve non-systemic delivery of therapeutic genes, the delivery of radionuclides preferably would involve systemic (i.v.) administration. The distribution and delivery of Ad sub-unit proteins following i.v. administration is not understood and must be studied and optimized. In addition, retention of the selective binding and internalization into tumor cells of the radiolabeled viral vectors remains an unmet challenge. We used the intact adenovirus (Ad, ∼80 nm diameter), native adenoviral fiber protein (AdFP, 180 kD trimer, purified from infected human cultured cells) and the adenoviral fiber 'knob' protein (recombinant AdFKP, 60 kD, synthesized in E. Coli), all of which interact with the in-vivo cellular receptor, coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) through the knob domain of the adenovirus fiber protein. Our initial studies were aimed at optimizing the labeling conditions using I-131 and In-111 to maintain CAR binding activity of the radiolabeled preparations. The CAR-binding was retained as determined using reaction with biotinylated CAR followed by chemiluminescence detection. The biodistribution results in mice and rats following i.v. administration (autoradiography, tissue counting) showed that all three vectors localized preferentially in CAR-expressing organs (liver, lung, heart, kidney), as expected. The CAR-binding of Ad-2 wild serotype was better (∼8 x stronger) than Ad-12, in particular following radiolabeling. Based on the above results, we further focused on the recombinant knob

IL-10 mediated by herpes simplex virus vector reduces neuropathic pain induced by HIV gp120 combined with ddC in rats.

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Zheng, Wenwen; Huang, Wan; Liu, Shue; Levitt, Roy C; Candiotti, Keith A; Lubarsky, David A; Hao, Shuanglin

2014-07-30

HIV-associated sensory neuropathy affects over 50% of HIV patients and is a common peripheral nerve complication of HIV infection and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Evidence shows that painful HIV sensory neuropathy is influenced by neuroinflammatory events that include the proinflammatory molecules, MAP Kinase, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), stromal cell-derived factor 1-α (SDF1α), and C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4). However, the exact mechanisms of painful HIV sensory neuropathy are not known, which hinders our ability to develop effective treatments. In this study, we investigated whether inhibition of proinflammatory factors reduces the HIV-associated neuropathic pain state. Neuropathic pain was induced by peripheral HIV coat protein gp120 combined with 2',3'-dideoxycytidine (ddC, one of the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)). Mechanical threshold was tested using von Frey filament fibers. Non-replicating herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors expressing interleukin 10 (IL10) were inoculated into the hindpaws of rats. The expression of TNFα, SDF1α, and CXCR4 in the lumbar spinal cord and L4/5 dorsal root ganglia (DRG) was examined using western blots. IL-10 expression mediated by the HSV vectors resulted in a significant elevation of mechanical threshold. The anti-allodynic effect of IL-10 expression mediated by the HSV vectors lasted more than 3 weeks. The area under the effect-time curves (AUC) in mechanical threshold in rats inoculated with the HSV vectors expressing IL-10, was increased compared with the control vectors, indicating antinociceptive effect of the IL-10 vectors. The HSV vectors expressing IL-10 also concomitantly reversed the upregulation of p-p38, TNFα, SDF1α, and CXCR4 induced by gp120 in the lumbar spinal dorsal horn and/or the DRG at 2 and/or 4 weeks. The blocking of the signaling of these proinflammatory molecules is able to reduce HIV-related neuropathic pain, which provide a novel

A heterologous prime-boosting strategy with replicating Vaccinia virus vectors and plant-produced HIV-1 Gag/dgp41 virus-like particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meador, Lydia R. [Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); Kessans, Sarah A. [Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); Kilbourne, Jacquelyn; Kibler, Karen V. [Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); Pantaleo, Giuseppe [Division of Immunology and Allergy, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, Lausanne (Switzerland); Swiss Vaccine Research Institute, Lausanne (Switzerland); Roderiguez, Mariano Esteban [Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia – CSIC, Madrid (Spain); Blattman, Joseph N. [Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); Jacobs, Bertram L., E-mail: bjacobs@asu.edu [Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); Mor, Tsafrir S., E-mail: tsafrir.mor@asu.edu [Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States)

2017-07-15

Showing modest efficacy, the RV144 HIV-1 vaccine clinical trial utilized a non-replicating canarypox viral vector and a soluble gp120 protein boost. Here we built upon the RV144 strategy by developing a novel combination of a replicating, but highly-attenuated Vaccinia virus vector, NYVAC-KC, and plant-produced HIV-1 virus-like particles (VLPs). Both components contained the full-length Gag and a membrane anchored truncated gp41 presenting the membrane proximal external region with its conserved broadly neutralizing epitopes in the pre-fusion conformation. We tested different prime/boost combinations of these components in mice and showed that the group primed with NYVAC-KC and boosted with both the viral vectors and plant-produced VLPs have the most robust Gag-specific CD8 T cell responses, at 12.7% of CD8 T cells expressing IFN-γ in response to stimulation with five Gag epitopes. The same immunization group elicited the best systemic and mucosal antibody responses to Gag and dgp41 with a bias towards IgG1. - Highlights: • We devised a prime/boost anti HIV-1 vaccination strategy modeled after RV144. • We used plant-derived virus-like particles (VLPs) consisting of Gag and dgp41. • We used attenuated, replicating vaccinia virus vectors expressing the same antigens. • The immunogens elicited strong cellular and humoral immune responses.

Gene therapy in the inner ear using adenovirus vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Husseman, Jacob; Raphael, Yehoash

2009-01-01

Therapies for the protection and regeneration of auditory hair cells are of great interest given the significant monetary and lifestyle impact of hearing loss. The past decade has seen tremendous advances in the use of adenoviral vectors to achieve these aims. Preliminary data demonstrated the functional capacity of this technique as adenoviral-induced expression of neurotrophic and growth factors protected hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons from ototoxic insults. Subsequent efforts confirmed the feasibility of adenoviral transfection of cells in the auditory neuroepithelium via cochleostomy into the scala media. Most recently, efforts have focused on regeneration of depleted hair cells. Mammalian hearing loss is generally considered a permanent insult as the auditory epithelium lacks a basal layer capable of producing new hair cells. Recently, the transcription factor Atoh1 has been found to play a critical role in hair cell differentiation. Adenoviral-mediated overexpression of Atoh1 in culture and in vivo have shown the ability to regenerate auditory and vestibular hair cells by causing transdifferentiation of neighboring epithelial-supporting cells. Functional recovery of both the auditory and vestibular systems has been documented following adenoviral induced Atoh1 overexpression. Copyright (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Optimizing HIV-1-specific CD8+ T-cell induction by recombinant BCG in prime-boost regimens with heterologous viral vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, Richard; Bridgeman, Anne; Bourne, Charles; Mbewe-Mvula, Alice; Sadoff, Jerald C; Both, Gerald W; Joseph, Joan; Fulkerson, John; Hanke, Tomáš

2011-12-01

The desire to induce HIV-1-specific responses soon after birth to prevent breast milk transmission of HIV-1 led us to propose a vaccine regimen which primes HIV-1-specific T cells using a recombinant Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (rBCG) vaccine. Because attenuated live bacterial vaccines are typically not sufficiently immunogenic as stand-alone vaccines, rBCG-primed T cells will likely require boost immunization(s). Here, we compared modified Danish (AERAS-401) and Pasteur lysine auxotroph (222) strains of BCG expressing the immunogen HIVA for their potency to prime HIV-1-specific responses in adult BALB/c mice and examined four heterologous boosting HIVA vaccines for their immunogenic synergy. We found that both BCG.HIVA(401) and BCG.HIVA(222) primed HIV-1-specific CD8(+) T-cell-mediated responses. The strongest boosts were delivered by human adenovirus-vectored HAdV5.HIVA and sheep atadenovirus-vectored OAdV7.HIVA vaccines, followed by poxvirus MVA.HIVA; the weakest was plasmid pTH.HIVA DNA. The prime-boost regimens induced T cells capable of efficient in vivo killing of sensitized target cells. We also observed that the BCG.HIVA(401) and BCG.HIVA(222) vaccines have broadly similar immunologic properties, but display a number of differences mainly detected through distinct profiles of soluble intercellular signaling molecules produced by immune splenocytes in response to both HIV-1- and BCG-specific stimuli. These results encourage further development of the rBCG prime-boost regimen. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Preclinical safety and efficacy of an anti–HIV-1 lentiviral vector containing a short hairpin RNA to CCR5 and the C46 fusion inhibitor

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Orit Wolstein

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Gene transfer has therapeutic potential for treating HIV-1 infection by generating cells that are resistant to the virus. We have engineered a novel self-inactivating lentiviral vector, LVsh5/C46, using two viral-entry inhibitors to block early steps of HIV-1 cycle. The LVsh5/C46 vector encodes a short hairpin RNA (shRNA for downregulation of CCR5, in combination with the HIV-1 fusion inhibitor, C46. We demonstrate here the effective delivery of LVsh5/C46 to human T cell lines, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, primary CD4+ T lymphocytes, and CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC. CCR5-targeted shRNA (sh5 and C46 peptide were stably expressed in the target cells and were able to effectively protect gene-modified cells against infection with CCR5- and CXCR4-tropic strains of HIV-1. LVsh5/C46 treatment was nontoxic as assessed by cell growth and viability, was noninflammatory, and had no adverse effect on HSPC differentiation. LVsh5/C46 could be produced at a scale sufficient for clinical development and resulted in active viral particles with very low mutagenic potential and the absence of replication-competent lentivirus. Based on these in vitro results, plus additional in vivo safety and efficacy data, LVsh5/C46 is now being tested in a phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of HIV-1 disease.

Novel adenoviral vector induces T-cell responses despite anti-adenoviral neutralizing antibodies in colorectal cancer patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Morse, Michael A; Chaudhry, Arvind; Gabitzsch, Elizabeth S; Hobeika, Amy C; Osada, Takuya; Clay, Timothy M; Amalfitano, Andrea; Burnett, Bruce K; Devi, Gayathri R; Hsu, David S; Xu, Younong; Balcaitis, Stephanie; Dua, Rajesh; Nguyen, Susan; Balint, Joseph P; Jones, Frank R; Lyerly, H Kim

2013-08-01

First-generation, E1-deleted adenovirus subtype 5 (Ad5)-based vectors, although promising platforms for use as cancer vaccines, are impeded in activity by naturally occurring or induced Ad-specific neutralizing antibodies. Ad5-based vectors with deletions of the E1 and the E2b regions (Ad5 [E1-, E2b-]), the latter encoding the DNA polymerase and the pre-terminal protein, by virtue of diminished late phase viral protein expression, were hypothesized to avoid immunological clearance and induce more potent immune responses against the encoded tumor antigen transgene in Ad-immune hosts. Indeed, multiple homologous immunizations with Ad5 [E1-, E2b-]-CEA(6D), encoding the tumor antigen carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), induced CEA-specific cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses with antitumor activity in mice despite the presence of preexisting or induced Ad5-neutralizing antibody. In the present phase I/II study, cohorts of patients with advanced colorectal cancer were immunized with escalating doses of Ad5 [E1-, E2b-]-CEA(6D). CEA-specific CMI responses were observed despite the presence of preexisting Ad5 immunity in a majority (61.3 %) of patients. Importantly, there was minimal toxicity, and overall patient survival (48 % at 12 months) was similar regardless of preexisting Ad5 neutralizing antibody titers. The results demonstrate that, in cancer patients, the novel Ad5 [E1-, E2b-] gene delivery platform generates significant CMI responses to the tumor antigen CEA in the setting of both naturally acquired and immunization-induced Ad5-specific immunity.

An easy method for preparation of Cre-loxP regulated fluorescent adenoviral expression vectors and its application for direct reprogramming into hepatocytes

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Chitose Kurihara

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The recombinant adenoviral gene expression system is a powerful tool for gene delivery. However, it is difficult to obtain high titers of infectious virus, principally due to the toxicity of the expressed gene which affects on virus replication in the host HEK293 cells. To avoid these problems, we generated a Cre-loxP-regulated fluorescent universal vector (termed pAxCALRL. This vector produces recombinant adenoviruses that express the red fluorescent protein (RFP instead of the inserted gene during proliferation, which limits toxicity and can be used to monitor viral replication. Expression of the gene of interest is induced by co-infection with an adenovirus that expresses Cre-recombinase (AxCANCre. Recombinant adenovirus produced by this system that express Hnf4α and Foxa2 were used to reprogram mouse embryo fibroblast (MEF into induced-hepatocyte-like cells (iHep following several rounds of infection, demonstrating the efficacy of this new system.

Selective elimination of HIV-1-infected cells by Env-directed, HIV-1-based virus-like particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peretti, Silvia; Schiavoni, Ilaria; Pugliese, Katherina; Federico, Maurizio

2006-01-01

We recently showed that both replicating and resting cells cultivated with ganciclovir (GCV) were killed when challenged with vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein pseudotyped HIV-1-based virus-like particles (VLPs) carrying the Nef7 (i.e., an HIV-1 Nef mutant incorporating in virions at high levels)/herpes simplex virus-1 thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) fusion product. On this basis, a novel anti-HIV therapeutic approach based on Nef7/TK VLPs expressing X4 or R5 HIV cell receptor complexes has been attempted. We here report that (CD4-CXCR4) and (CD4-CCR5) Nef7-based VLPs efficiently enter cells infected by X4- or R5-tropic HIV-1 strains, respectively. Importantly, the delivery of the VLP-associated Nef7/TK led to cell death upon GCV treatment. Of interest, VLPs were effective also against non-replicating, HIV-1-infected primary human monocyte-derived macrophages. HIV-targeted VLPs represent a promising candidate for the treatment of persistently HIV-1-infected cells that are part of virus reservoirs resistant to HAART therapies

Adenoviral vector-mediated GM-CSF gene transfer improves anti-mycobacterial immunity in mice - role of regulatory T cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Singpiel, Alena; Kramer, Julia; Maus, Regina; Stolper, Jennifer; Bittersohl, Lara Friederike; Gauldie, Jack; Kolb, Martin; Welte, Tobias; Sparwasser, Tim; Maus, Ulrich A

2018-03-01

Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a hematopoietic growth factor involved in differentiation, survival and activation of myeloid and non-myeloid cells with important implications for lung antibacterial immunity. Here we examined the effect of pulmonary adenoviral vector-mediated delivery of GM-CSF (AdGM-CSF) on anti-mycobacterial immunity in M. bovis BCG infected mice. Exposure of M. bovis BCG infected mice to AdGM-CSF either applied on 6h, or 6h and 7days post-infection substantially increased alveolar recruitment of iNOS and IL-12 expressing macrophages, and significantly increased accumulation of IFNγ pos T cells and particularly regulatory T cells (Tregs). This was accompanied by significantly reduced mycobacterial loads in the lungs of mice. Importantly, diphtheria toxin-induced depletion of Tregs did not influence mycobacterial loads, but accentuated immunopathology in AdGM-CSF-exposed mice infected with M. bovis BCG. Together, the data demonstrate that AdGM-CSF therapy improves lung protective immunity against M. bovis BCG infection in mice independent of co-recruited Tregs, which however critically contribute to limit lung immunopathology in BCG-infected mice. These data may be relevant to the development of immunomodulatory strategies to limit immunopathology-based lung injury in tuberculosis in humans. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Pre-existing vector immunity does not prevent replication deficient adenovirus from inducing efficient CD8 T-cell memory and recall responses.

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Maria Abildgaard Steffensen

Full Text Available Adenoviral vectors have shown a great potential for vaccine development due to their inherent ability to induce potent and protective CD8 T-cell responses. However, a critical issue regarding the use of these vectors is the existence of inhibitory immunity against the most commonly used Ad5 vector in a large part of the human population. We have recently developed an improved adenoviral vaccine vector system in which the vector expresses the transgene tethered to the MHC class II associated invariant chain (Ii. To further evaluate the potential of this system, the concept of pre-existing inhibitory immunity to adenoviral vectors was revisited to investigate whether the inhibition previously seen with the Ad5 vector also applied to the optimized vector system. We found this to be the case, and antibodies dominated as the mechanism underlying inhibitory vector immunity. However, presence of CD8 T cells directed against epitopes in the adenoviral vector seemed to correlate with repression of the induced response in re-vaccinated B-cell deficient mice. More importantly, despite a repressed primary effector CD8 T-cell response in Ad5-immune animals subjected to vaccination, memory T cells were generated that provided the foundation for an efficient recall response and protection upon subsequent viral challenge. Furthermore, the transgene specific response could be efficiently boosted by homologous re-immunization. Taken together, these studies indicate that adenoviral vectors can be used to induce efficient CD8 T-cell memory even in individuals with pre-existing vector immunity.

Evaluation of yellow fever virus 17D strain as a new vector for HIV-1 vaccine development.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, David; Li, Wenjing; Qing, Fang; Stoyanov, Cristina T; Moran, Thomas; Rice, Charles M; Ho, David D

2010-08-09

The failure to develop an effective vaccine against HIV-1 infection has led the research community to seek new ways of raising qualitatively different antibody and cellular immune responses. Towards this goal, we investigated the yellow fever 17D vaccine strain (YF17D), one of the most effective vaccines ever made, as a platform for HIV-1 vaccine development. A test antigen, HIV-1 p24 (clade B consensus), was inserted near the 5' end of YF17D, in frame and upstream of the polyprotein (YF-5'/p24), or between the envelope and the first non-structural protein (YF-E/p24/NS1). In vitro characterization of these recombinants indicated that the gene insert was more stable in the context of YF-E/p24/NS1. This was confirmed in immunogenicity studies in mice. CD8(+) IFN-gamma T-cell responses against p24 were elicited by the YF17D recombinants, as were specific CD4(+) T cells expressing IFN-gamma and IL-2. A balanced CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell response was notable, as was the polyfunctionality of the responding cells. Finally, the protective efficacy of the YF17D recombinants, particularly YF-E/p24/NS1, in mice challenged with a vaccinia expressing HIV-1 Gag was demonstrated. These results suggest that YF17D warrants serious consideration as a live-attenuated vector for HIV-1 vaccine development. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

HIV-1 vaccines

Science.gov (United States)

Excler, Jean-Louis; Robb, Merlin L; Kim, Jerome H

2014-01-01

The development of a safe and effective preventive HIV-1 vaccine remains a public health priority. Despite scientific difficulties and disappointing results, HIV-1 vaccine clinical development has, for the first time, established proof-of-concept efficacy against HIV-1 acquisition and identified vaccine-associated immune correlates of risk. The correlate of risk analysis showed that IgG antibodies against the gp120 V2 loop correlated with decreased risk of HIV infection, while Env-specific IgA directly correlated with increased risk. The development of vaccine strategies such as improved envelope proteins formulated with potent adjuvants and DNA and vectors expressing mosaics, or conserved sequences, capable of eliciting greater breadth and depth of potentially relevant immune responses including neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies, CD4+ and CD8+ cell-mediated immune responses, mucosal immune responses, and immunological memory, is now proceeding quickly. Additional human efficacy trials combined with other prevention modalities along with sustained funding and international collaboration remain key to bring an HIV-1 vaccine to licensure. PMID:24637946

Getting genetic access to natural adenovirus genomes to explore vector diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenli; Ehrhardt, Anja

2017-10-01

Recombinant vectors based on the human adenovirus type 5 (HAdV5) have been developed and extensively used in preclinical and clinical studies for over 30 years. However, certain restrictions of HAdV5-based vectors have limited their clinical applications because they are rather inefficient in specifically transducing cells of therapeutic interest that lack the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR). Moreover, enhanced vector-associated toxicity and widespread preexisting immunity have been shown to significantly hamper the effectiveness of HAdV-5-mediated gene transfer. However, evolution of adenoviruses in the natural host is driving the generation of novel types with altered virulence, enhanced transmission, and altered tissue tropism. As a consequence, an increasing number of alternative adenovirus types were identified, which may represent a valuable resource for the development of novel vector types. Thus, researchers are focusing on the other naturally occurring adenovirus types, which are structurally similar but functionally different from HAdV5. To this end, several strategies have been devised for getting genetic access to adenovirus genomes, resulting in a new panel of adenoviral vectors. Importantly, these vectors were shown to have a host range different from HAdV5 and to escape the anti-HAdV5 immune response, thus underlining the great potential of this approach. In summary, this review provides a state-of-the-art overview of one essential step in adenoviral vector development.

An anti-HIV microbicide engineered in commensal bacteria: secretion of HIV-1 fusion inhibitors by lactobacilli

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pusch, O.; Kalyanaraman, R.; Tucker, L.D.; Wells, J.; Rmanratnam, B.; Boden, D.

2006-01-01

Objectives: To engineer Lactobacillus spp. to secrete HIV-1 fusion inhibitors with potent neutralizing activity against primary HIV-1 isolates. Methods: HIV-1 fusion inhibitors (FI-1, FI-2, and FI-3) were introduced into the previously developed shuttle vector pTSV2 and transformed in L. plantarum

Presumed Acute Adenoviral Dacryoadenitis Associated with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

of serum adenoviral antibodies IgM and presence of inclusion bodies in conjunctival smear. Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis is caused by adenovirus serovars. 8, 19, and 37.[7] Serological typing and polymerase chain reaction for adenoviral were not available in smear in both eyes. A computerized tomography scan of.

Factors involved in the maturation of murine dendritic cells transduced with adenoviral vector variants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanagawa, Naoko; Koretomo, Ryosuke; Murakami, Sayaka; Sakurai, Fuminori; Mizuguchi, Hiroyuki; Nakagawa, Shinsaku; Fujita, Takuya; Yamamoto, Akira; Okada, Naoki

2008-01-01

Adenoviral vector (Ad)-mediated gene transfer is an attractive method for manipulating the immunostimulatory properties of dendritic cells (DCs) for cancer immunotherapy. DCs treated with Ad have phenotype alterations (maturation) that facilitate T cell sensitization. We investigated the mechanisms of DC maturation with Ad transduction. Expression levels of a maturation marker (CD40) on DCs treated with conventional Ad, fiber-modified Ads (AdRGD, AdF35, AdF35ΔRGD), or a different serotype Ad (Ad35) were correlated with their transduction efficacy. The α v -integrin directional Ad, AdRGD, exhibited the most potent ability to enhance both foreign gene expression and CD40 expression, and induced secretion of interleukin-12, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-α in DCs. The presence of a foreign gene expression cassette in AdRGD was not necessary for DC maturation. Maturation of DCs treated with AdRGD was suppressed by destruction of the Ad genome, inhibition of endocytosis, or endosome acidification, whereas proteasome inhibition increased CD40 expression levels on DCs. Moreover, inhibition of α v -integrin signal transduction and blockade of cytokine secretion affected the maturation of DCs treated with AdRGD only slightly or not at all, respectively. Thus, our data provide evidence that Ad-induced DC maturation is due to Ad invasion of the DCs, followed by nuclear transport of the Ad genome, and not to the expression of foreign genes

Effects of the deletion of early region 4 (E4 open reading frame 1 (orf1, orf1-2, orf1-3 and orf1-4 on virus-host cell interaction, transgene expression, and immunogenicity of replicating adenovirus HIV vaccine vectors.

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Michael A Thomas

Full Text Available The global health burden engendered by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-induced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS is a sobering reminder of the pressing need for a preventative vaccine. In non-human primate models replicating adenovirus (Ad-HIV/SIV recombinant vaccine vectors have been shown to stimulate potent immune responses culminating in protection against challenge exposures. Nonetheless, an increase in the transgene carrying capacity of these Ad vectors, currently limited to approximately 3000 base pairs, would greatly enhance their utility. Using a replicating, E3-deleted Ad type 5 host range mutant (Ad5 hr encoding full-length single-chain HIVBaLgp120 linked to the D1 and D2 domains of rhesus macaque CD4 (rhFLSC we systematically deleted the genes encoding early region 4 open reading frame 1 (E4orf1 through E4orf4. All the Ad-rhFLSC vectors produced similar levels of viral progeny. Cell cycle analysis of infected human and monkey cells revealed no differences in virus-host interaction. The parental and E4-deleted viruses expressed comparable levels of the transgene with kinetics similar to Ad late proteins. Similar levels of cellular immune responses and transgene-specific antibodies were elicited in vaccinated mice. However, differences in recognition of Ad proteins and induced antibody subtypes were observed, suggesting that the E4 gene products might modulate antibody responses by as yet unknown mechanisms. In short, we have improved the transgene carrying capacity by one thousand base pairs while preserving the replicability, levels of transgene expression, and immunogenicity critical to these vaccine vectors. This additional space allows for flexibility in vaccine design that could not be obtained with the current vector and as such should facilitate the goal of improving vaccine efficacy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the effects of these E4 deletions on transgene expression and

Effects of the deletion of early region 4 (E4) open reading frame 1 (orf1), orf1-2, orf1-3 and orf1-4 on virus-host cell interaction, transgene expression, and immunogenicity of replicating adenovirus HIV vaccine vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Michael A; Song, Rui; Demberg, Thorsten; Vargas-Inchaustegui, Diego A; Venzon, David; Robert-Guroff, Marjorie

2013-01-01

The global health burden engendered by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-induced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a sobering reminder of the pressing need for a preventative vaccine. In non-human primate models replicating adenovirus (Ad)-HIV/SIV recombinant vaccine vectors have been shown to stimulate potent immune responses culminating in protection against challenge exposures. Nonetheless, an increase in the transgene carrying capacity of these Ad vectors, currently limited to approximately 3000 base pairs, would greatly enhance their utility. Using a replicating, E3-deleted Ad type 5 host range mutant (Ad5 hr) encoding full-length single-chain HIVBaLgp120 linked to the D1 and D2 domains of rhesus macaque CD4 (rhFLSC) we systematically deleted the genes encoding early region 4 open reading frame 1 (E4orf1) through E4orf4. All the Ad-rhFLSC vectors produced similar levels of viral progeny. Cell cycle analysis of infected human and monkey cells revealed no differences in virus-host interaction. The parental and E4-deleted viruses expressed comparable levels of the transgene with kinetics similar to Ad late proteins. Similar levels of cellular immune responses and transgene-specific antibodies were elicited in vaccinated mice. However, differences in recognition of Ad proteins and induced antibody subtypes were observed, suggesting that the E4 gene products might modulate antibody responses by as yet unknown mechanisms. In short, we have improved the transgene carrying capacity by one thousand base pairs while preserving the replicability, levels of transgene expression, and immunogenicity critical to these vaccine vectors. This additional space allows for flexibility in vaccine design that could not be obtained with the current vector and as such should facilitate the goal of improving vaccine efficacy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the effects of these E4 deletions on transgene expression and immunogenicity in a

Enhancement of Mucosal Immunogenicity of Viral Vectored Vaccines by the NKT Cell Agonist Alpha-Galactosylceramide as Adjuvant

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Shailbala Singh

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Gene-based vaccination strategies, specifically viral vectors encoding vaccine immunogens are effective at priming strong immune responses. Mucosal routes offer practical advantages for vaccination by ease of needle-free administration, and immunogen delivery at readily accessible oral/nasal sites to efficiently induce immunity at distant gut and genital tissues. However, since mucosal tissues are inherently tolerant for induction of immune responses, incorporation of adjuvants for optimal mucosal vaccination strategies is important. We report here the effectiveness of alpha-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer, a synthetic glycolipid agonist of natural killer T (NKT cells, as an adjuvant for enhancing immunogenicity of vaccine antigens delivered using viral vectors by mucosal routes in murine and nonhuman primate models. Significant improvement in adaptive immune responses in systemic and mucosal tissues was observed by including α-GalCer adjuvant for intranasal immunization of mice with vesicular stomatitis virus vector encoding the model antigen ovalbumin and adenoviral vectors expressing HIV env and Gag antigens. Activation of NKT cells in systemic and mucosal tissues along with significant increases in adaptive immune responses were observed in rhesus macaques immunized by intranasal and sublingual routes with protein or adenovirus vectored antigens when combined with α-GalCer adjuvant. These results support the utility of α-GalCer adjuvant for enhancing immunogenicity of mucosal vaccines delivered using viral vectors.

Use of adenoviral vectors as veterinary vaccines.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, T B; Alves, P M; Aunins, J G; Carrondo, M J T

2005-10-01

Vaccines are the most effective and inexpensive prophylactic tool in veterinary medicine. Ideally, vaccines should induce a lifelong protective immunity against the target pathogen while not causing clinical or pathological signs of diseases in the vaccinated animals. However, such ideal vaccines are rare in the veterinary field. Many vaccines are either of limited effectiveness or have harmful side effects. In addition, there are still severe diseases with no effective vaccines. A very important criterion for an ideal vaccine in veterinary medicine is low cost; this is especially important in developing countries and even more so for poultry vaccination, where vaccines must sell for a few cents a dose. Traditional approaches include inactivated vaccines, attenuated live vaccines and subunit vaccines. Recently, genetic engineering has been applied to design new, improved vaccines. Adenovirus vectors are highly efficient for gene transfer in a broad spectrum of cell types and species. Moreover, adenoviruses often induce humoral, mucosal and cellular immune responses to antigens encoded by the inserted foreign genes. Thus, adenoviruses have become a vector of choice for delivery and expression of foreign proteins for vaccination. Consequently, the market requirements for adenovirus vaccines are increasing, creating a need for production methodologies of concentrated vectors with warranted purity and efficacy. This review summarizes recent developments and approaches of adenovirus production and purification as the application of these vectors, including successes and failures in clinical applications to date.

Post-spinal cord injury astrocyte-mediated functional recovery in rats after intraspinal injection of the recombinant adenoviral vectors Ad5-VEGF and Ad5-ANG.

Science.gov (United States)

Povysheva, Tatyana; Shmarov, Maksim; Logunov, Denis; Naroditsky, Boris; Shulman, Ilya; Ogurcov, Sergey; Kolesnikov, Pavel; Islamov, Rustem; Chelyshev, Yuri

2017-07-01

directions from the points of injection. A 1.5 to 2.0-fold increase in the number of GFAP + , S100β + , and AQP4 + cells was observed in the white and gray matter at a distance of up to 5 mm from the center of the lesion site in the caudal and rostral directions. At 30 days after injury, a 2-fold increase in S100β transcripts was observed in the Ad5-VEGF+Ad5-ANG group compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS Intraspinal injection of recombinant adenoviral vectors encoding VEGF and ANG stimulates functional recovery after traumatic SCI. The increased number of S100β + astrocytes induced by this approach may be a beneficial factor for maintaining the survival and function of neurons. Therefore, gene therapy with Ad5-VEGF+Ad5-ANG vectors is an effective therapeutic method for SCI treatment.

Lentiviral Vector Mediated Claudin1 Silencing Inhibits Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer Cells

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Xianqi Zhao

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Breast cancer has a high incidence and mortality rate worldwide. Several viral vectors including lentiviral, adenoviral and adeno-associated viral vectors have been used in gene therapy for various forms of human cancer, and have shown promising effects in controlling tumor development. Claudin1 (CLDN1 is a member of the tetraspan transmembrane protein family that plays a major role in tight junctions and is associated with tumor metastasis. However, the role of CLDN1 in breast cancer is largely unexplored. In this study, we tested the therapeutic potential of silencing CLDN1 expression in two breast cancer (MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 cell lines using lentiviral vector mediated RNA interference. We found that a CLDN1 short hairpin (shRNA construct efficiently silenced CLDN1 expression in both breast cancer cell lines, and CLDN1 knockdown resulted in reduced cell proliferation, survival, migration and invasion. Furthermore, silencing CLDN1 inhibited epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT by upregulating the epithelial cell marker, E-cadherin, and downregulating mesenchymal markers, smooth muscle cell alpha-actin (SMA and Snai2. Our data demonstrated that lentiviral vector mediated CLDN1 RNA interference has great potential in breast cancer gene therapy by inhibiting EMT and controlling tumor cell growth.

Development of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Based Gene Therapy for HIV-1 Infection: Considerations for Proof of Concept Studies and Translation to Standard Medical Practice

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David L. DiGiusto

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Over the past 15 years we have been investigating an alternative approach to treating HIV-1/AIDS, based on the creation of a disease-resistant immune system through transplantation of autologous, gene-modified (HIV-1-resistant hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (GM-HSPC. We propose that the expression of selected RNA-based HIV-1 inhibitors in the CD4+ cells derived from GM-HSPC will protect them from HIV-1 infection and results in a sufficient immune repertoire to control HIV-1 viremia resulting in a functional cure for HIV-1/AIDS. Additionally, it is possible that the subset of protected T cells will also be able to facilitate the immune-based elimination of latently infected cells if they can be activated to express viral antigens. Thus, a single dose of disease resistant GM-HSPC could provide an effective treatment for HIV-1+ patients who require (or desire an alternative to lifelong antiretroviral chemotherapy. We describe herein the results from several pilot clinical studies in HIV-1 patients and our strategies to develop second generation vectors and clinical strategies for HIV-1+ patients with malignancy who require ablative chemotherapy as part of treatment and others without malignancy. The important issues related to stem cell source, patient selection, conditioning regimen and post-infusion correlative studies become increasingly complex and are discussed herein.

Genetic Passive Immunization with Adenoviral Vector Expressing Chimeric Nanobody-Fc Molecules as Therapy for Genital Infection Caused by Mycoplasma hominis.

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Daria A Burmistrova

Full Text Available Developing pathogen-specific recombinant antibody fragments (especially nanobodies is a very promising strategy for the treatment of infectious disease. Nanobodies have great potential for gene therapy application due to their single-gene nature. Historically, Mycoplasma hominis has not been considered pathogenic bacteria due to the lack of acute infection and partially due to multiple studies demonstrating high frequency of isolation of M. hominis samples from asymptomatic patients. However, recent studies on the role of latent M. hominis infection in oncologic transformation, especially prostate cancer, and reports that M. hominis infects Trichomonas and confers antibiotic resistance to Trichomonas, have generated new interest in this field. In the present study we have generated specific nanobody against M. hominis (aMh, for which the identified target is the ABC-transporter substrate-binding protein. aMh exhibits specific antibacterial action against M. hominis. In an attempt to improve the therapeutic properties, we have developed the adenoviral vector-based gene therapy approach for passive immunization with nanobodies against M. hominis. For better penetration into the mucous layer of the genital tract, we fused aMh with the Fc-fragment of IgG. Application of this comprehensive approach with a single systemic administration of recombinant adenovirus expressing aMh-Fc demonstrated both prophylactic and therapeutic effects in a mouse model of genital M. hominis infection.

Novel approach to abuse the hyperactive K-Ras pathway for adenoviral gene therapy of colorectal cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naumov, Inna; Kazanov, Dina; Lisiansky, Victoria; Starr, Alex; Aroch, Ilan; Shapira, Shiran; Kraus, Sarah; Arber, Nadir

2012-01-01

Background: Functional activation of oncogenic K-Ras signaling pathway plays an important role in the early events of colorectal carcinogenesis (CRC). K-Ras proto-oncogene is involved in 35–40% of CRC cases. Mutations in the Ras gene trigger the transduction of proliferative and anti-apoptotic signals, even in the absence of extra cellular stimuli. The objective of the current study was to use a gene-targeting approach to kill human CRC cells selectively harboring mutated K-Ras. Results: A recombinant adenovirus that carries a lethal gene, PUMA, under the control of a Ras responsive promoter (Ad-Py4-SV40-PUMA) was used selectively to target CRC cells (HCT116, SW480, DLD1 and RIE-Ras) that possess a hyperactive Ras pathway while using HT29 and RIE cells as a control that harbors wild type Ras and exhibit very low Ras activity. Control vector, without the Ras responsive promoter elements was used to assess the specificity of our “gene therapy” approach. Both adenoviral vectors were assed in vitro and in xenograft model in vivo. Ad-Py4-SV40-PUMA showed high potency to induce ∼ 50% apoptosis in vitro, to abolish completely tumor formation by infecting cells with the Ad-Py4-SV40-PUMA prior xenografting them in nude mice and high ability to suppress by ∼ 35% tumor progression in vivo in already established tumors. Conclusions: Selective targeting of CRC cells with the activated Ras pathway may be a novel and effective therapy in CRC. The high potency of this adenoviral vector may help to overcome an undetectable micro metastasis that is the major hurdle in challenging with CRC.

Novel approach to abuse the hyperactive K-Ras pathway for adenoviral gene therapy of colorectal cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naumov, Inna [Integrated Cancer Prevention Center, Tel Aviv (Israel); Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel); Kazanov, Dina [Integrated Cancer Prevention Center, Tel Aviv (Israel); Lisiansky, Victoria [Integrated Cancer Prevention Center, Tel Aviv (Israel); Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel); Starr, Alex [Lung and Allergy Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv (Israel); Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel); Aroch, Ilan; Shapira, Shiran; Kraus, Sarah [Integrated Cancer Prevention Center, Tel Aviv (Israel); Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel); Arber, Nadir, E-mail: narber@post.tau.ac.il [Integrated Cancer Prevention Center, Tel Aviv (Israel); Department of Gastroenterology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv (Israel); Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel)

2012-01-15

Background: Functional activation of oncogenic K-Ras signaling pathway plays an important role in the early events of colorectal carcinogenesis (CRC). K-Ras proto-oncogene is involved in 35-40% of CRC cases. Mutations in the Ras gene trigger the transduction of proliferative and anti-apoptotic signals, even in the absence of extra cellular stimuli. The objective of the current study was to use a gene-targeting approach to kill human CRC cells selectively harboring mutated K-Ras. Results: A recombinant adenovirus that carries a lethal gene, PUMA, under the control of a Ras responsive promoter (Ad-Py4-SV40-PUMA) was used selectively to target CRC cells (HCT116, SW480, DLD1 and RIE-Ras) that possess a hyperactive Ras pathway while using HT29 and RIE cells as a control that harbors wild type Ras and exhibit very low Ras activity. Control vector, without the Ras responsive promoter elements was used to assess the specificity of our 'gene therapy' approach. Both adenoviral vectors were assed in vitro and in xenograft model in vivo. Ad-Py4-SV40-PUMA showed high potency to induce {approx} 50% apoptosis in vitro, to abolish completely tumor formation by infecting cells with the Ad-Py4-SV40-PUMA prior xenografting them in nude mice and high ability to suppress by {approx} 35% tumor progression in vivo in already established tumors. Conclusions: Selective targeting of CRC cells with the activated Ras pathway may be a novel and effective therapy in CRC. The high potency of this adenoviral vector may help to overcome an undetectable micro metastasis that is the major hurdle in challenging with CRC.

HIV-1 Gag-specific exosome-targeted T cell-based vaccine stimulates effector CTL responses leading to therapeutic and long-term immunity against Gag/HLA-A2-expressing B16 melanoma in transgenic HLA-A2 mice

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Rong Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1-specific dendritic cell (DC vaccines have been applied to clinical trials that show only induction of some degree of immune responses, warranting the search of other more efficient vaccine strategies. Since HIV-1-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs have been found to recognize some HIV-1 structural protein Gag conserved and cross-strain epitopes, Gag has become one of the most attractive target candidates for HIV-1 vaccine development. In this study, we generated HIV-1 Gag-specific Gag-Texo vaccine by using ConA-stimulated polyclonal CD8+ T-cells with uptake of Gag-expressing adenoviral vector AdVGag-transfected DC (DCGag-released exosomes (EXOs, and assessed its stimulation of Gag-specific CD8+ CTL responses and antitumor immunity. We demonstrate that Gag-Texo and DCGag vaccines comparably stimulate Gag-specific effector CD8+ CTL responses. Gag-Texo-stimulated CTL responses result in protective immunity against Gag-expressing BL6-10Gag melanoma in 8/8 wild-type C57BL/6 mice. In addition, we show that Gag-Texo vaccine also induces CTL responses leading to protective and long-term immunity against Gag/HLA-A2-expressing BL6-10Gag/A2 melanoma in 8/8 and 2/8 transgenic HLA-A2 mice, respectively. The average number of lung tumor colonies in mice with 30-days post-immunization is only 23, which is significantly less than that (>300 in control ConA-T-immunized HLA-A2 mice. Furthermore, Gag-Texo vaccine also induces some degree of therapeutic immunity. The average number (50 and size (0.23 mm in diameter of lung tumor colonies in Gag-Texo-immunized HLA-A2 mice bearing 6-day-established lung BL6-10Gag/A2 melanoma metastasis are significantly less than the average number (>300 and size (1.02 mm in diameter in control ConA-T-immunized HLA-A2 mice. Taken together, HIV-1 Gag-Texo vaccine capable of stimulating Gag-specific CTL responses and therapeutic immunity may be useful as a new immunotherapeutic

Lentiviral Vector Gene Transfer to Porcine Airways

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Patrick L Sinn

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, we investigated lentiviral vector development and transduction efficiencies in well-differentiated primary cultures of pig airway epithelia (PAE and wild-type pigs in vivo. We noted gene transfer efficiencies similar to that observed for human airway epithelia (HAE. Interestingly, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV-based vectors transduced immortalized pig cells as well as pig primary cells more efficiently than HIV-1–based vectors. PAE express TRIM5α, a well-characterized species-specific lentiviral restriction factor. We contrasted the restrictive properties of porcine TRIM5α against FIV- and HIV-based vectors using gain and loss of function approaches. We observed no effect on HIV-1 or FIV conferred transgene expression in response to porcine TRIM5α overexpression or knockdown. To evaluate the ability of GP64-FIV to transduce porcine airways in vivo, we delivered vector expressing mCherry to the tracheal lobe of the lung and the ethmoid sinus of 4-week-old pigs. One week later, epithelial cells expressing mCherry were readily detected. Our findings indicate that pseudotyped FIV vectors confer similar tropisms in porcine epithelia as observed in human HAE and provide further support for the selection of GP64 as an appropriate envelope pseudotype for future preclinical gene therapy studies in the porcine model of cystic fibrosis (CF.

Particle-based vaccines for HIV-1 infection.

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Young, Kelly R; Ross, Ted M

2003-06-01

The use of live-attenuated viruses as vaccines has been successful for the control of viral infections. However, the development of an effective vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has proven to be a challenge. HIV infects cells of the immune system and results in a severe immunodeficiency. In addition, the ability of the virus to adapt to immune pressure and the ability to reside in an integrated form in host cells present hurdles for vaccinologists to overcome. A particle-based vaccine strategy has promise for eliciting high titer, long-lived, immune responses to a diverse number of viral epitopes from different HIV antigens. Live-attenuated viruses are effective at generating both cellular and humoral immunity, however, a live-attenuated vaccine for HIV is problematic. The possibility of a live-attenuated vaccine to revert to a pathogenic form or recombine with a wild-type or defective virus in an infected individual is a drawback to this approach. Therefore, these vaccines are currently only being tested in non-human primate models. Live-attenuated vaccines are effective in stimulating immunity, however challenged animals rarely clear viral infection and the degree of attenuation directly correlates with the protection of animals from disease. Another particle-based vaccine approach for HIV involves the use of virus-like particles (VLPs). VLPs mimic the viral particle without causing an immunodeficiency disease. HIV-like particles (HIV-LP) are defined as self-assembling, non-replicating, nonpathogenic, genomeless particles that are similar in size and conformation to intact virions. A variety of VLPs for both HIV and SIV are currently in pre-clinical and clinical trials. This review focuses on the current knowledge regarding the immunogenicity and safety of particle-based vaccine strategies for HIV-1.

Adenoviral transfer of the heme oxygenase-1 gene protects striatal astrocytes from heme-mediated oxidative injury.

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Teng, Zhi-Ping; Chen, Jing; Chau, Lee-Young; Galunic, Nicholas; Regan, Raymond F

2004-11-01

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is induced in the CNS after hemorrhage, and may have an effect on injury to surrounding tissue. Hemin, the preferred substrate of HO, is a neurotoxin that is present in intracranial hematomas. In a prior study, we observed that HO inhibitors increased the vulnerability of cultured cortical astrocytes to heme-mediated oxidative injury. To investigate the effect of HO more specifically, we used an adenoviral vector encoding the human HO-1 gene to specifically increase HO-1 expression. Incubation with 100 MOI of the HO-1 adenovirus (Adv-HHO-1) for 24 h increased both HO-1 protein and HO activity; a control adenovirus lacking the HO-1 gene had no effect. Using a DNA probe that was specific for human HO-1, 80.5 +/- 7.2% of astrocytes were observed to be infected by in situ hybridization. The cell death produced by 30-60 microM hemin was significantly reduced by pretreatment with 100 MOI Adv-HHO-1, as assessed by LDH release, propidium iodide exclusion, and MTT reduction assay. The threefold increase in cell protein oxidation produced by hemin was also attenuated in cultures pretreated with Adv-HHO-1. These results support the hypothesis that HO-1 protects astrocytes from heme-mediated oxidative injury. Specifically increasing astrocytic HO-1 by gene transfer may have a beneficial effect on hemorrhagic CNS injury.

A new system for parallel drug screening against multiple-resistant HIV mutants based on lentiviral self-inactivating (SIN vectors and multi-colour analyses

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Prokofjeva Maria M

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite progress in the development of combined antiretroviral therapies (cART, HIV infection remains a significant challenge for human health. Current problems of cART include multi-drug-resistant virus variants, long-term toxicity and enormous treatment costs. Therefore, the identification of novel effective drugs is urgently needed. Methods We developed a straightforward screening approach for simultaneously evaluating the sensitivity of multiple HIV gag-pol mutants to antiviral drugs in one assay. Our technique is based on multi-colour lentiviral self-inactivating (SIN LeGO vector technology. Results We demonstrated the successful use of this approach for screening compounds against up to four HIV gag-pol variants (wild-type and three mutants simultaneously. Importantly, the technique was adapted to Biosafety Level 1 conditions by utilising ecotropic pseudotypes. This allowed upscaling to a large-scale screening protocol exploited by pharmaceutical companies in a successful proof-of-concept experiment. Conclusions The technology developed here facilitates fast screening for anti-HIV activity of individual agents from large compound libraries. Although drugs targeting gag-pol variants were used here, our approach permits screening compounds that target several different, key cellular and viral functions of the HIV life-cycle. The modular principle of the method also allows the easy exchange of various mutations in HIV sequences. In conclusion, the methodology presented here provides a valuable new approach for the identification of novel anti-HIV drugs.

Adenoviral gene transfer of PLD1-D4 enhances insulin sensitivity in mice by disrupting phospholipase D1 interaction with PED/PEA-15.

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Angela Cassese

Full Text Available Over-expression of phosphoprotein enriched in diabetes/phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes (PED/PEA-15 causes insulin resistance by interacting with the D4 domain of phospholipase D1 (PLD1. Indeed, the disruption of this association restores insulin sensitivity in cultured cells over-expressing PED/PEA-15. Whether the displacement of PLD1 from PED/PEA-15 improves insulin sensitivity in vivo has not been explored yet. In this work we show that treatment with a recombinant adenoviral vector containing the human D4 cDNA (Ad-D4 restores normal glucose homeostasis in transgenic mice overexpressing PED/PEA-15 (Tg ped/pea-15 by improving both insulin sensitivity and secretion. In skeletal muscle of these mice, D4 over-expression inhibited PED/PEA-15-PLD1 interaction, decreased Protein Kinase C alpha activation and restored insulin induced Protein Kinase C zeta activation, leading to amelioration of insulin-dependent glucose uptake. Interestingly, Ad-D4 administration improved insulin sensitivity also in high-fat diet treated obese C57Bl/6 mice. We conclude that PED/PEA-15-PLD1 interaction may represent a novel target for interventions aiming at improving glucose tolerance.

Enhancement of the priming efficacy of DNA vaccines encoding dendritic cell-targeted antigens by synergistic toll-like receptor ligands

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Kornbluth Richard S

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Targeting of protein antigens to dendritic cells (DC via the DEC205 receptor enhances presentation of antigen-derived peptides on MHC-I and MHC-II molecules and, in the presence of costimulatory signals, antigen-specific immune responses. The immunogenicity and efficacy of DNA vaccination can also be enhanced by fusing the encoded antigen to single chain antibodies directed against DEC205. To further improve this strategy, we evaluated different toll-like receptor ligands (TLR and CD40 ligands (CD40L as adjuvants for DNA vaccines encoding a DEC205-single-chain antibody fused to the ovalbumin model antigen or HIV-1 Gag and assessed the priming efficacy of DNA in a DNA prime adenoviral vector boost immunization regimen. Results Mice were primed with the adjuvanted DEC-205 targeted DNA vaccines and boosted with adenoviral vectors encoding the same antigens. CD8+ T cell responses were determined after the adenoviral booster immunization, to determine how well the different DNA immunization regimens prime for the adenoviral boost. In the absence of adjuvants, targeting of DNA-encoded ovalbumin to DCs suppressed CD8+ T-cell responses after the adenoviral booster immunization. CD8+ T-cell responses to the DEC205 targeted DNA vaccines increased only slightly by adding either the TLR-9 ligand CpG, the TLR-3 ligand Poly I:C, or CD40 ligand expression plasmids. However, the combination of both TLR-ligands led to a strong enhancement of CD8+ T-cell responses compared to a non-targeted DNA vaccine. This finding was confirmed using HIV Gag as antigen. Conclusion Although DNA prime adenoviral vector boost immunizations belong to the strongest inducers of cytotoxic T cell responses in different animal models and humans, the CD8+ T cell responses can be further improved by targeting the DNA encoded antigen to DEC205 in the presence of synergistic TLR ligands CpG and Poly I:C.

Supraphysiologic control over HIV-1 replication mediated by CD8 T cells expressing a re-engineered CD4-based chimeric antigen receptor.

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Rachel S Leibman

2017-10-01

Full Text Available HIV is adept at avoiding naturally generated T cell responses; therefore, there is a need to develop HIV-specific T cells with greater potency for use in HIV cure strategies. Starting with a CD4-based chimeric antigen receptor (CAR that was previously used without toxicity in clinical trials, we optimized the vector backbone, promoter, HIV targeting moiety, and transmembrane and signaling domains to determine which components augmented the ability of T cells to control HIV replication. This re-engineered CAR was at least 50-fold more potent in vitro at controlling HIV replication than the original CD4 CAR, or a TCR-based approach, and substantially better than broadly neutralizing antibody-based CARs. A humanized mouse model of HIV infection demonstrated that T cells expressing optimized CARs were superior at expanding in response to antigen, protecting CD4 T cells from infection, and reducing viral loads compared to T cells expressing the original, clinical trial CAR. Moreover, in a humanized mouse model of HIV treatment, CD4 CAR T cells containing the 4-1BB costimulatory domain controlled HIV spread after ART removal better than analogous CAR T cells containing the CD28 costimulatory domain. Together, these data indicate that potent HIV-specific T cells can be generated using improved CAR design and that CAR T cells could be important components of an HIV cure strategy.

Human vaginal fluid contains exosomes that have an inhibitory effect on an early step of the HIV-1 life cycle.

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Smith, Johanna A; Daniel, Rene

2016-11-13

Vaginal transmission is crucial to the spread of HIV-1 around the world. It is not yet clear what type (s) of innate defenses against HIV-1 infection are present in the vagina. Here, we aimed to determine whether human vaginal fluid contains exosomes that may possess anti-HIV-1 activity. The exosomal fraction was isolated from samples of vaginal fluids. The presence of exosomes was confirmed by flow cytometry and western blotting. The newly discovered exosomes were tested for their ability to block early steps of HIV-1 infection in vitro using established cell culture systems and real time PCR-based methods. Vaginal fluid contains exosomes expressing CD9, CD63, and CD81 exosomal markers. The exosomal fraction of the fluid-reduced transmission of HIV-1 vectors by 60%, the efficiency of reverse transcription step by 58.4%, and the efficiency of integration by 47%. Exosomes had no effect on the entry of HIV-1 vectors. Human vaginal fluid exosomes are newly discovered female innate defenses that may protect women against HIV-1 infection.

A consistency-based feature selection method allied with linear SVMs for HIV-1 protease cleavage site prediction.

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Orkun Oztürk

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Predicting type-1 Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1 protease cleavage site in protein molecules and determining its specificity is an important task which has attracted considerable attention in the research community. Achievements in this area are expected to result in effective drug design (especially for HIV-1 protease inhibitors against this life-threatening virus. However, some drawbacks (like the shortage of the available training data and the high dimensionality of the feature space turn this task into a difficult classification problem. Thus, various machine learning techniques, and specifically several classification methods have been proposed in order to increase the accuracy of the classification model. In addition, for several classification problems, which are characterized by having few samples and many features, selecting the most relevant features is a major factor for increasing classification accuracy. RESULTS: We propose for HIV-1 data a consistency-based feature selection approach in conjunction with recursive feature elimination of support vector machines (SVMs. We used various classifiers for evaluating the results obtained from the feature selection process. We further demonstrated the effectiveness of our proposed method by comparing it with a state-of-the-art feature selection method applied on HIV-1 data, and we evaluated the reported results based on attributes which have been selected from different combinations. CONCLUSION: Applying feature selection on training data before realizing the classification task seems to be a reasonable data-mining process when working with types of data similar to HIV-1. On HIV-1 data, some feature selection or extraction operations in conjunction with different classifiers have been tested and noteworthy outcomes have been reported. These facts motivate for the work presented in this paper. SOFTWARE AVAILABILITY: The software is available at http

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of HIV-1 integration targeting.

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Engelman, Alan N; Singh, Parmit K

2018-07-01

Integration is central to HIV-1 replication and helps mold the reservoir of cells that persists in AIDS patients. HIV-1 interacts with specific cellular factors to target integration to interior regions of transcriptionally active genes within gene-dense regions of chromatin. The viral capsid interacts with several proteins that are additionally implicated in virus nuclear import, including cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor 6, to suppress integration into heterochromatin. The viral integrase protein interacts with transcriptional co-activator lens epithelium-derived growth factor p75 to principally position integration within gene bodies. The integrase additionally senses target DNA distortion and nucleotide sequence to help fine-tune the specific phosphodiester bonds that are cleaved at integration sites. Research into virus-host interactions that underlie HIV-1 integration targeting has aided the development of a novel class of integrase inhibitors and may help to improve the safety of viral-based gene therapy vectors.

Immune Modulation of NYVAC-Based HIV Vaccines by Combined Deletion of Viral Genes that Act on Several Signalling Pathways

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Carmen Elena Gómez

2017-12-01

Full Text Available An HIV-1 vaccine continues to be a major target to halt the AIDS pandemic. The limited efficacy of the RV144 phase III clinical trial with the canarypox virus-based vector ALVAC and a gp120 protein component led to the conclusion that improved immune responses to HIV antigens are needed for a more effective vaccine. In non-human primates, the New York vaccinia virus (NYVAC poxvirus vector has a broader immunogenicity profile than ALVAC and has been tested in clinical trials. We therefore analysed the HIV immune advantage of NYVAC after removing viral genes that act on several signalling pathways (Toll-like receptors—TLR—interferon, cytokines/chemokines, as well as genes of unknown immune function. We generated a series of NYVAC deletion mutants and studied immune behaviour (T and B cell to HIV antigens and to the NYVAC vector in mice. Our results showed that combined deletion of selected vaccinia virus (VACV genes is a valuable strategy for improving the immunogenicity of NYVAC-based vaccine candidates. These immune responses were differentially modulated, positive or negative, depending on the combination of gene deletions. The deletions also led to enhanced antigen- or vector-specific cellular and humoral responses. These findings will facilitate the development of optimal NYVAC-based vaccines for HIV and other diseases.

Accurate and efficient gp120 V3 loop structure based models for the determination of HIV-1 co-receptor usage

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Vaisman Iosif I

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background HIV-1 targets human cells expressing both the CD4 receptor, which binds the viral envelope glycoprotein gp120, as well as either the CCR5 (R5 or CXCR4 (X4 co-receptors, which interact primarily with the third hypervariable loop (V3 loop of gp120. Determination of HIV-1 affinity for either the R5 or X4 co-receptor on host cells facilitates the inclusion of co-receptor antagonists as a part of patient treatment strategies. A dataset of 1193 distinct gp120 V3 loop peptide sequences (989 R5-utilizing, 204 X4-capable is utilized to train predictive classifiers based on implementations of random forest, support vector machine, boosted decision tree, and neural network machine learning algorithms. An in silico mutagenesis procedure employing multibody statistical potentials, computational geometry, and threading of variant V3 sequences onto an experimental structure, is used to generate a feature vector representation for each variant whose components measure environmental perturbations at corresponding structural positions. Results Classifier performance is evaluated based on stratified 10-fold cross-validation, stratified dataset splits (2/3 training, 1/3 validation, and leave-one-out cross-validation. Best reported values of sensitivity (85%, specificity (100%, and precision (98% for predicting X4-capable HIV-1 virus, overall accuracy (97%, Matthew's correlation coefficient (89%, balanced error rate (0.08, and ROC area (0.97 all reach critical thresholds, suggesting that the models outperform six other state-of-the-art methods and come closer to competing with phenotype assays. Conclusions The trained classifiers provide instantaneous and reliable predictions regarding HIV-1 co-receptor usage, requiring only translated V3 loop genotypes as input. Furthermore, the novelty of these computational mutagenesis based predictor attributes distinguishes the models as orthogonal and complementary to previous methods that utilize sequence

Pre-existing vector immunity does not prevent replication deficient adenovirus from inducing efficient CD8 T-cell memory and recall responses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steffensen, Maria Abildgaard; Jensen, Benjamin Anderschou Holbech; Holst, Peter Johannes

2012-01-01

directed against epitopes in the adenoviral vector seemed to correlate with repression of the induced response in re-vaccinated B-cell deficient mice. More importantly, despite a repressed primary effector CD8 T-cell response in Ad5-immune animals subjected to vaccination, memory T cells were generated...... that provided the foundation for an efficient recall response and protection upon subsequent viral challenge. Furthermore, the transgene specific response could be efficiently boosted by homologous re-immunization. Taken together, these studies indicate that adenoviral vectors can be used to induce efficient CD......8 T-cell memory even in individuals with pre-existing vector immunity....

Performance of V3-based HIV-1 sero subtyping in HIV endemic areas

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Lara Tavoschi

2011-12-01

Full Text Available HIV-1 serosubtyping based on reactivity to peptides from the V3 region of gp120 is a low-cost and easy to perform procedure often used in geographical areas with high prevalence and incidence of HIV infection. We evaluated the performance of V3-based serotyping on 148 sera from 118 HIV-1-infected individuals living in Uganda, with estimated dates of seroconversion. Of the 148 tested samples, 68 (46.0% specifically reacted with only one of the V3 peptides included in the test (SP, 64 (43.2% did not react with any peptide (NR and 16 (10.8% reacted with two or more peptides (CR. According to the estimated seroconversion date, the large majority of samples collected early after infection belonged to the NR group. These samples had also a low Avidity Index. In contrast, samples collected later after infection belonged mainly to CR and SP groups and had also a higher avidity index. These results indicate that the performance of V3-based assays depends on maturation of HIV-specific immune response and can be significantly lowered when these tests are carried out on specimens collected from recently infected individuals.

HIV-1 envelope sequence-based diversity measures for identifying recent infections.

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Alexis Kafando

Full Text Available Identifying recent HIV-1 infections is crucial for monitoring HIV-1 incidence and optimizing public health prevention efforts. To identify recent HIV-1 infections, we evaluated and compared the performance of 4 sequence-based diversity measures including percent diversity, percent complexity, Shannon entropy and number of haplotypes targeting 13 genetic segments within the env gene of HIV-1. A total of 597 diagnostic samples obtained in 2013 and 2015 from recently and chronically HIV-1 infected individuals were selected. From the selected samples, 249 (134 from recent versus 115 from chronic infections env coding regions, including V1-C5 of gp120 and the gp41 ectodomain of HIV-1, were successfully amplified and sequenced by next generation sequencing (NGS using the Illumina MiSeq platform. The ability of the four sequence-based diversity measures to correctly identify recent HIV infections was evaluated using the frequency distribution curves, median and interquartile range and area under the curve (AUC of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC. Comparing the median and interquartile range and evaluating the frequency distribution curves associated with the 4 sequence-based diversity measures, we observed that the percent diversity, number of haplotypes and Shannon entropy demonstrated significant potential to discriminate recent from chronic infections (p<0.0001. Using the AUC of ROC analysis, only the Shannon entropy measure within three HIV-1 env segments could accurately identify recent infections at a satisfactory level. The env segments were gp120 C2_1 (AUC = 0.806, gp120 C2_3 (AUC = 0.805 and gp120 V3 (AUC = 0.812. Our results clearly indicate that the Shannon entropy measure represents a useful tool for predicting HIV-1 infection recency.

Analysis of HIV-1 intersubtype recombination breakpoints suggests region with high pairing probability may be a more fundamental factor than sequence similarity affecting HIV-1 recombination.

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Jia, Lei; Li, Lin; Gui, Tao; Liu, Siyang; Li, Hanping; Han, Jingwan; Guo, Wei; Liu, Yongjian; Li, Jingyun

2016-09-21

With increasing data on HIV-1, a more relevant molecular model describing mechanism details of HIV-1 genetic recombination usually requires upgrades. Currently an incomplete structural understanding of the copy choice mechanism along with several other issues in the field that lack elucidation led us to perform an analysis of the correlation between breakpoint distributions and (1) the probability of base pairing, and (2) intersubtype genetic similarity to further explore structural mechanisms. Near full length sequences of URFs from Asia, Europe, and Africa (one sequence/patient), and representative sequences of worldwide CRFs were retrieved from the Los Alamos HIV database. Their recombination patterns were analyzed by jpHMM in detail. Then the relationships between breakpoint distributions and (1) the probability of base pairing, and (2) intersubtype genetic similarities were investigated. Pearson correlation test showed that all URF groups and the CRF group exhibit the same breakpoint distribution pattern. Additionally, the Wilcoxon two-sample test indicated a significant and inexplicable limitation of recombination in regions with high pairing probability. These regions have been found to be strongly conserved across distinct biological states (i.e., strong intersubtype similarity), and genetic similarity has been determined to be a very important factor promoting recombination. Thus, the results revealed an unexpected disagreement between intersubtype similarity and breakpoint distribution, which were further confirmed by genetic similarity analysis. Our analysis reveals a critical conflict between results from natural HIV-1 isolates and those from HIV-1-based assay vectors in which genetic similarity has been shown to be a very critical factor promoting recombination. These results indicate the region with high-pairing probabilities may be a more fundamental factor affecting HIV-1 recombination than sequence similarity in natural HIV-1 infections. Our

Generation of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against a conformational epitope of human adenovirus type 7 (HAdv-7 incorporated in capsid encoded in a HAdv-3-based vector.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minglong Liu

Full Text Available The generation of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs by epitope-based immunization is difficult because the immunogenicity of simple peptides is poor and T cells must be potently stimulated and immunological memory elicited. A strategy in which antigen is incorporated into the adenoviral capsid protein has been used previously to develop antibody responses against several vaccine targets and may offer a solution to this problem. In this study, we used a similar strategy to develop HAdv-7-neutralizing MAbs using rAdMHE3 virions into which hexon hypervariable region 5 (HVR5 of adenovirus type 7 (HAdv-7 was incorporated. The epitope mutant rAdMHE3 was generated by replacing HVR5 of Ad3EGFP, a recombinant HAdv-3-based vector expressing enhanced green fluorescence protein, with HVR5 of HAdv-7. We immunized BALB/c mice with rAdMHE3 virions and produced 22 different MAbs against them, four of which showed neutralizing activity against HAdv-7 in vitro. Using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA analysis and an antibody-binding-competition ELISA with Ad3EGFP, HAdv-7, and a series of chimeric adenoviral particles containing epitope mutants, we demonstrated that the four MAbs recognize the neutralization site within HVR5 of the HAdv-7 virion. Using an immunoblotting analysis and ELISA with HAdv-7, recombinant peptides, and a synthetic peptide, we also showed that the neutralizing epitope within HVR5 of the HAdv-7 virion is a conformational epitope. These findings suggest that it is feasible to use a strategy in which antigen is incorporated into the adenoviral capsid protein to generate neutralizing MAbs. This strategy may also be useful for developing therapeutic neutralizing MAbs and designing recombinant vector vaccines against HAdv-7, and in structural analysis of adenoviruses.

Adenoviral Gene Delivery to Primary Human Cutaneous Cells and Burn Wounds

OpenAIRE

Hirsch, Tobias; von Peter, Sebastian; Dubin, Grzegorz; Mittler, Dominik; Jacobsen, Frank; Lehnhardt, Markus; Eriksson, Elof; Steinau, Hans-Ulrich; Steinstraesser, Lars

2006-01-01

The adenoviral transfer of therapeutic genes into epidermal and dermal cells is an interesting approach to treat skin diseases and to promote wound healing. The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro and in vivo transfection efficacy in skin and burn wounds after adenoviral gene delivery. Primary keratinocytes (HKC), fibroblasts (HFB), and HaCaT cells were transfected using different concentrations of an adenoviral construct (eGFP). Transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity was determine...

Molecular epidemiology of adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis in Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabbara, Khalid F; Omar, Nazri; Hammouda, Ehab; Akanuma, Masataka; Ohguchi, Takeshi; Ariga, Toshihide; Tagawa, Yoshitsugu; Kitaichi, Nobuyoshi; Ishida, Susumu; Aoki, Koki; Ishiko, Hiroaki; Ohno, Shigeaki

2010-10-24

Adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis is a major cause of ocular morbidity and may lead to visual loss. Adenovirus types 8, 19, and 37 may cause epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. The main objective of this study was to determine the types of adenoviruses causing keratoconjunctivitis in Saudi Arabia. We conducted a non-interventional observational clinical study. Seventy three eyes from 65 patients who presented to The Eye Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with clinical features of acute adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis were included. Each patient underwent complete clinical examination and features such as membranous reaction, conjunctival hemorrhage, subepithelial corneal infiltrates, and preauricular lymph node enlargement were recorded. Conjunctival swabs were obtained from patients with presumed acute viral conjunctivitis. Immunochromatography (IC) and restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction (PCR-RFLP) were performed on the conjunctival swabs obtained from each eye. Serotype identification was performed using direct sequencing technique. Forty-nine (67.1%) were adenovirus type 8, 8 (11.0%) were adenovirus type 3, 6 (8.2%) type 37, 5 (6.8%) were adenovirus type 4, and 2 (2.3%) type 19. The remaining 5 were types 14, 19, and 22. The prevalence of membranous conjunctivitis was highest (83%) among eyes with adenovirus type 37 while subepithelial corneal opacities were most commonly seen among eyes with adenovirus type 8 (47%). Immunochromatography tests were positive for adenovirus in 48 (65.7%) out of 73 eyes. This study determined the types of adenoviruses causing keratoconjunctivitis at one center in Saudi Arabia. Direct sequencing techniques is an efficient, accurate, and rapid means of diagnosing adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis. The most common causes of adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis in Saudi Arabia were adenovirus types 8, 3, and 37. Membranous conjunctivitis and subepithelial opacities had the highest frequency of adenovirus types 37 and 8

HIV-1 vaccine-induced T-cell responses cluster in epitope hotspots that differ from those induced in natural infection with HIV-1.

Science.gov (United States)

Hertz, Tomer; Ahmed, Hasan; Friedrich, David P; Casimiro, Danilo R; Self, Steven G; Corey, Lawrence; McElrath, M Juliana; Buchbinder, Susan; Horton, Helen; Frahm, Nicole; Robertson, Michael N; Graham, Barney S; Gilbert, Peter

2013-01-01

Several recent large clinical trials evaluated HIV vaccine candidates that were based on recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 (rAd-5) vectors expressing HIV-derived antigens. These vaccines primarily elicited T-cell responses, which are known to be critical for controlling HIV infection. In the current study, we present a meta-analysis of epitope mapping data from 177 participants in three clinical trials that tested two different HIV vaccines: MRKAd-5 HIV and VRC-HIVAD014-00VP. We characterized the population-level epitope responses in these trials by generating population-based epitope maps, and also designed such maps using a large cohort of 372 naturally infected individuals. We used these maps to address several questions: (1) Are vaccine-induced responses randomly distributed across vaccine inserts, or do they cluster into immunodominant epitope hotspots? (2) Are the immunodominance patterns observed for these two vaccines in three vaccine trials different from one another? (3) Do vaccine-induced hotspots overlap with epitope hotspots induced by chronic natural infection with HIV-1? (4) Do immunodominant hotspots target evolutionarily conserved regions of the HIV genome? (5) Can epitope prediction methods be used to identify these hotspots? We found that vaccine responses clustered into epitope hotspots in all three vaccine trials and some of these hotspots were not observed in chronic natural infection. We also found significant differences between the immunodominance patterns generated in each trial, even comparing two trials that tested the same vaccine in different populations. Some of the vaccine-induced immunodominant hotspots were located in highly variable regions of the HIV genome, and this was more evident for the MRKAd-5 HIV vaccine. Finally, we found that epitope prediction methods can partially predict the location of vaccine-induced epitope hotspots. Our findings have implications for vaccine design and suggest a framework by which different

Characterization of infectivity of knob-modified adenoviral vectors in glioma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.P.L. Paul (C. P L); M. Everts (M.); J.N. Glasgow (J.); P. Dent (P.); P.B. Fisher (P.); I.V. Ulasov (I.); M.S. Lesniak (M.); M.A. Stoff-Khalili (M.); J.C. Roth (J.); M. Preuss (Michael); C.M.F. Dirven (Clemens); M.L.M. Lamfers (Martine); T. Siegal (Tali); Z.B. Zhu (Z.); R.E. Curiel (Rafael E.)

2008-01-01

textabstractMalignant glioma continues to be a major target for gene therapy and virotherapy due to its aggressive growth and the current lack of effective treatment. However, these approaches have been hampered by inefficient infection of glioma cells by viral vectors, particularly vectors derived

Mucosal immunization with recombinant adenoviral vectors expressing murine gammaherpesvirus-68 genes M2 and M3 can reduce latent viral load.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoegh-Petersen, Mette; Thomsen, Allan R; Christensen, Jan P; Holst, Peter J

2009-11-12

Gammaherpesviruses establish life-long latent infections in their hosts. If the host becomes immunosuppressed, these viruses may reactivate and cause severe disease, and even in immunocompetent individuals the gammaherpesviruses are presumed to have an oncogenic potential. Murine gammaherpesvirus-68 (MHV-68) is a member of the Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily and represents a useful murine model for this category of infections, in which new vaccination strategies may initially be evaluated. Two attenuated variants of MHV-68 have successfully been used as vaccines, but the oncogenic potential of the gammaherpesvirinae speaks against using a similar approach in humans. DNA immunization with plasmids encoding the MHV-68 genes M2 or M3 caused a reduction in either acute or early latent viral load, respectively, but neither immunization had an effect at times later than 14 days post-infection. Adenovirus-based vaccines are substantially more immunogenic than DNA vaccines and can be applied to induce mucosal immunity. Here we show that a significant reduction of the late viral load in the spleens, at 60 days post-infection, was achieved when immunizing mice both intranasally and subcutaneously with adenoviral vectors encoding both M2 and M3. Additionally we show that M3 immunization prevented the usual development of virus-induced splenomegaly at 2-3 weeks post-infection. This is the first time that immunization with a non-replicating vaccine has lead to a significantly reduced viral load at time points beyond 14 days post-infection, and thus demonstrates that a non-replicating vaccine may successfully be employed to reduce the viral burden during chronic gammaherpesvirus infection.

Simplified production and concentration of HIV-1-based lentiviral vectors using HYPERFlask vessels and anion exchange membrane chromatography

Science.gov (United States)

Kutner, Robert H; Puthli, Sharon; Marino, Michael P; Reiser, Jakob

2009-01-01

Background During the past twelve years, lentiviral (LV) vectors have emerged as valuable tools for transgene delivery because of their ability to transduce nondividing cells and their capacity to sustain long-term transgene expression in target cells in vitro and in vivo. However, despite significant progress, the production and concentration of high-titer, high-quality LV vector stocks is still cumbersome and costly. Methods Here we present a simplified protocol for LV vector production on a laboratory scale using HYPERFlask vessels. HYPERFlask vessels are high-yield, high-performance flasks that utilize a multilayered gas permeable growth surface for efficient gas exchange, allowing convenient production of high-titer LV vectors. For subsequent concentration of LV vector stocks produced in this way, we describe a facile protocol involving Mustang Q anion exchange membrane chromatography. Results Our results show that unconcentrated LV vector stocks with titers in excess of 108 transduction units (TU) per ml were obtained using HYPERFlasks and that these titers were higher than those produced in parallel using regular 150-cm2 tissue culture dishes. We also show that up to 500 ml of an unconcentrated LV vector stock prepared using a HYPERFlask vessel could be concentrated using a single Mustang Q Acrodisc with a membrane volume of 0.18 ml. Up to 5.3 × 1010 TU were recovered from a single HYPERFlask vessel. Conclusion The protocol described here is easy to implement and should facilitate high-titer LV vector production for preclinical studies in animal models without the need for multiple tissue culture dishes and ultracentrifugation-based concentration protocols. PMID:19220915

Ectopic expression of anti-HIV-1 shRNAs protects CD8+ T cells modified with CD4ζ CAR from HIV-1 infection and alleviates impairment of cell proliferation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamata, Masakazu; Kim, Patrick Y.; Ng, Hwee L.; Ringpis, Gene-Errol E.; Kranz, Emiko; Chan, Joshua; O'Connor, Sean; Yang, Otto O.; Chen, Irvin S.Y.

2015-01-01

Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are artificially engineered receptors that confer a desired specificity to immune effector T cells. As an HIV-1-specific CAR, CD4ζ CAR has been extensively tested in vitro as well as in clinical trials. T cells modified with this CAR mediated highly potent anti-HIV-1 activities in vitro and were well-tolerated in vivo, but exerted limited effects on viral load and reservoir size due to poor survival and/or functionality of the transduced cells in patients. We hypothesize that ectopic expression of CD4ζ on CD8 + T cells renders them susceptible to HIV-1 infection, resulting in poor survival of those cells. To test this possibility, highly purified CD8 + T cells were genetically modified with a CD4ζ-encoding lentiviral vector and infected with HIV-1. CD8 + T cells were vulnerable to HIV-1 infection upon expression of CD4ζ as evidenced by elevated levels of p24 Gag in cells and culture supernatants. Concurrently, the number of CD4ζ-modified CD8 + T cells was reduced relative to control cells upon HIV-1 infection. To protect these cells from HIV-1 infection, we co-expressed two anti-HIV-1 shRNAs previously developed by our group together with CD4ζ. This combination vector was able to suppress HIV-1 infection without impairing HIV-1-dependent effector activities of CD4ζ. In addition, the number of CD4ζ-modified CD8 + T cells maintained similar levels to that of the control even under HIV-1 infection. These results suggest that protecting CD4ζ-modified CD8 + T cells from HIV-1 infection is required for prolonged HIV-1-specific immune surveillance. - Highlights: • Ectopic expression of CD4ζ CAR in CD8 + T cells renders them susceptible to HIV-1 infection. • Co-expression of two anti-HIV-1 shRNAs protects CD4ζ CAR-modified CD8 + T cells from HIV-1 infection. • Protecting CD4ζ CAR-modified CD8 + T cells from HIV-1 infection suppresses its cytopathic effect

Reactivation of presumed adenoviral keratitis after laser in situ keratomileusis.

Science.gov (United States)

Safak, Nilgün; Bilgihan, Kamil; Gürelik, Gökhan; Ozdek, Sengül; Hasanreisoğlu, Berati

2002-04-01

We report a patient with reactivation of presumed adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) to correct high myopia. The preoperative refraction was -13.00 diopters (D) in the right eye and -14.00 D in the left eye, and the best corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in both eyes. On the first postoperative day, mild conjunctival hyperemia and multiple subepithelial infiltrations localized in the flap zone consistent with adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis were seen. After prompt treatment, the lesions resolved. As a consequence, LASIK successfully corrected the high myopia. Adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis can be reactivated after LASIK, unlike after photorefractive keratectomy, despite the absence of symptomatic and clinical findings before the procedure.

Recent progress in immune-based interventions to prevent HIV-1 transmission to children.

Science.gov (United States)

Voronin, Yegor; Jani, Ilesh; Graham, Barney S; Cunningham, Coleen K; Mofenson, Lynne M; Musoke, Philippa M; Permar, Sallie R; Scarlatti, Gabriella

2017-12-01

Globally, 150,000 new paediatric human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infections occurred in 2015. There remain complex challenges to the global elimination of paediatric HIV-1 infection. Thus, for the global community to achieve elimination of new paediatric HIV-1 infections, innovative approaches need to be explored. Immune-based approaches to prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) may help fill some of the remaining gaps and provide new opportunities to achieve an AIDS-free generation. Immune-based interventions to prevent MTCT of HIV-1 may include paediatric HIV vaccines and passive immunization approaches. Recent discoveries providing evidence of robust immune responses to HIV in infants open new and exciting prospects for paediatric HIV vaccines. Moreover, successful vaccination of infants has a different set of requirements than vaccination of adults and may be easier to achieve. Proof-of-concept has been established over the last two decades that passively administered HIV-1 Env-specific monoclonal antibody (mAbs) can prevent chimeric simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) transmission to newborn nonhuman primates. There has been tremendous progress in isolating and characterizing broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV, and clinical testing of these antibodies for treatment and prevention in both infants and adults is a major effort in the field. Immune-based interventions need to be actively explored as they can provide critically important tools to address persistent challenges in MTCT prevention. It is a pivotal time for the field with active discussions on the best strategy to further reduce HIV infection of infants and accomplish the World Health Organization Fast-Track 2030 goals to eliminate new paediatric HIV infections. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of the International AIDS Society published by John Wiley & sons Ltd on behalf of the International AIDS Society.

[New strategy for RNA vectorization in mammalian cells. Use of a peptide vector].

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal, P; Morris, M C; Chaloin, L; Heitz, F; Divita, G

1997-04-01

A major barrier for gene delivery is the low permeability of nucleic acids to cellular membranes. The development of antisenses and gene therapy has focused mainly on improving methods of oligonucleotide or gene delivery to the cell. In this report we described a new strategy for RNA cell delivery, based on a short single peptide. This peptide vector is derived from both the fusion domain of the gp41 protein of HIV and the nuclear localization sequence of the SV40 large T antigen. This peptide vector localizes rapidly to the cytoplasm then to the nucleus of human fibroblasts (HS-68) within a few minutes and exhibits a high affinity for a single-stranded mRNA encoding the p66 subunit of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (in a 100 nM range). The peptide/RNA complex formation involves mainly electrostatic interactions between the basic residues of the peptide and the charges on the phosphate group of the RNA. In the presence of the peptide-vector fluorescently-labelled mRNA is delivered into the cytoplasm of mammalian cells (HS68 human fibroblasts) in less than 1 h with a relatively high efficiency (80%). This new concept based on a peptide-derived vector offers several advantages compared to other compounds commonly used in gene delivery. This vector is highly soluble and exhibits no cytotoxicity at the concentrations used for optimal gene delivery. This result clearly supports the fact that this peptide vector is a powerful tool and that it can be used widely, as much for laboratory research as for new applications and development in gene and/or antisense therapy.

Ectopic expression of anti-HIV-1 shRNAs protects CD8{sup +} T cells modified with CD4ζ CAR from HIV-1 infection and alleviates impairment of cell proliferation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamata, Masakazu, E-mail: masa3k@ucla.edu [Division of Hematology-Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Kim, Patrick Y. [Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Ng, Hwee L. [Division of Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Ringpis, Gene-Errol E.; Kranz, Emiko; Chan, Joshua; O' Connor, Sean [Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Yang, Otto O. [Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Division of Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (United States); UCLA AIDS Institute, Los Angeles, CA (United States); AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Chen, Irvin S.Y. [Division of Hematology-Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (United States); UCLA AIDS Institute, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

2015-07-31

Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are artificially engineered receptors that confer a desired specificity to immune effector T cells. As an HIV-1-specific CAR, CD4ζ CAR has been extensively tested in vitro as well as in clinical trials. T cells modified with this CAR mediated highly potent anti-HIV-1 activities in vitro and were well-tolerated in vivo, but exerted limited effects on viral load and reservoir size due to poor survival and/or functionality of the transduced cells in patients. We hypothesize that ectopic expression of CD4ζ on CD8{sup +} T cells renders them susceptible to HIV-1 infection, resulting in poor survival of those cells. To test this possibility, highly purified CD8{sup +} T cells were genetically modified with a CD4ζ-encoding lentiviral vector and infected with HIV-1. CD8{sup +} T cells were vulnerable to HIV-1 infection upon expression of CD4ζ as evidenced by elevated levels of p24{sup Gag} in cells and culture supernatants. Concurrently, the number of CD4ζ-modified CD8{sup +} T cells was reduced relative to control cells upon HIV-1 infection. To protect these cells from HIV-1 infection, we co-expressed two anti-HIV-1 shRNAs previously developed by our group together with CD4ζ. This combination vector was able to suppress HIV-1 infection without impairing HIV-1-dependent effector activities of CD4ζ. In addition, the number of CD4ζ-modified CD8{sup +} T cells maintained similar levels to that of the control even under HIV-1 infection. These results suggest that protecting CD4ζ-modified CD8{sup +} T cells from HIV-1 infection is required for prolonged HIV-1-specific immune surveillance. - Highlights: • Ectopic expression of CD4ζ CAR in CD8{sup +} T cells renders them susceptible to HIV-1 infection. • Co-expression of two anti-HIV-1 shRNAs protects CD4ζ CAR-modified CD8{sup +} T cells from HIV-1 infection. • Protecting CD4ζ CAR-modified CD8{sup +} T cells from HIV-1 infection suppresses its cytopathic effect.

A mammalian cell based FACS-panning platform for the selection of HIV-1 envelopes for vaccine development.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim-Henrik Bruun

Full Text Available An increasing number of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (bnMAb against the HIV-1 envelope (Env protein has been discovered recently. Despite this progress, vaccination efforts with the aim to re-elicit bnMAbs that provide protective immunity have failed so far. Herein, we describe the development of a mammalian cell based FACS-panning method in which bnMAbs are used as tools to select surface-exposed envelope variants according to their binding affinity. For that purpose, an HIV-1 derived lentiviral vector was developed to infect HEK293T cells at low multiplicity of infection (MOI in order to link Env phenotype and genotype. For proof of principle, a gp145 Env model-library was established in which the complete V3 domain was substituted by five strain specific V3 loop sequences with known binding affinities to nMAb 447-52D, respectively. Env genes were recovered from selected cells by PCR, subcloned into a lentiviral vector (i to determine and quantify the enrichment nMAb binders and (ii to generate a new batch of transduction competent particles. After 2 selection cycles the Env variant with highest affinity was enriched 20-fold and represented 80% of the remaining Env population. Exploiting the recently described bnMAbs, this procedure might prove useful in selecting Env proteins from large Env libraries with the potential to elicit bnMAbs when used as vaccine candidates.

HIV-1 molecular epidemiology among newly diagnosed HIV-1 individuals in Hebei, a low HIV prevalence province in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xinli; Kang, Xianjiang; Liu, Yongjian; Cui, Ze; Guo, Wei; Zhao, Cuiying; Li, Yan; Chen, Suliang; Li, Jingyun; Zhang, Yuqi; Zhao, Hongru

2017-01-01

New human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) diagnoses are increasing rapidly in Hebei. The aim of this study presents the most extensive HIV-1 molecular epidemiology investigation in Hebei province in China thus far. We have carried out the most extensive systematic cross-sectional study based on newly diagnosed HIV-1 positive individuals in 2013, and characterized the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 based on full length gag-partial pol gene sequences in the whole of Hebei. Nine HIV-1 genotypes based on full length gag-partial pol gene sequence were identified among 610 newly diagnosed naïve individuals. The four main genotypes were circulating recombinant form (CRF)01_AE (53.4%), CRF07_BC (23.4%), subtype B (15.9%), and unique recombinant forms URFs (4.9%). Within 1 year, three new genotypes (subtype A1, CRF55_01B, CRF65_cpx), unknown before in Hebei, were first found among men who have sex with men (MSM). All nine genotypes were identified in the sexually contracted HIV-1 population. Among 30 URFs, six recombinant patterns were revealed, including CRF01_AE/BC (40.0%), CRF01_AE/B (23.3%), B/C (16.7%), CRF01_AE/C (13.3%), CRF01_AE/B/A2 (3.3%) and CRF01_AE/BC/A2 (3.3%), plus two potential CRFs. This study elucidated the complicated characteristics of HIV-1 molecular epidemiology in a low HIV-1 prevalence northern province of China and revealed the high level of HIV-1 genetic diversity. All nine HIV-1 genotypes circulating in Hebei have spread out of their initial risk groups into the general population through sexual contact, especially through MSM. This highlights the urgency of HIV prevention and control in China.

HIV-1 molecular epidemiology among newly diagnosed HIV-1 individuals in Hebei, a low HIV prevalence province in China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinli Lu

Full Text Available New human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1 diagnoses are increasing rapidly in Hebei. The aim of this study presents the most extensive HIV-1 molecular epidemiology investigation in Hebei province in China thus far. We have carried out the most extensive systematic cross-sectional study based on newly diagnosed HIV-1 positive individuals in 2013, and characterized the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 based on full length gag-partial pol gene sequences in the whole of Hebei. Nine HIV-1 genotypes based on full length gag-partial pol gene sequence were identified among 610 newly diagnosed naïve individuals. The four main genotypes were circulating recombinant form (CRF01_AE (53.4%, CRF07_BC (23.4%, subtype B (15.9%, and unique recombinant forms URFs (4.9%. Within 1 year, three new genotypes (subtype A1, CRF55_01B, CRF65_cpx, unknown before in Hebei, were first found among men who have sex with men (MSM. All nine genotypes were identified in the sexually contracted HIV-1 population. Among 30 URFs, six recombinant patterns were revealed, including CRF01_AE/BC (40.0%, CRF01_AE/B (23.3%, B/C (16.7%, CRF01_AE/C (13.3%, CRF01_AE/B/A2 (3.3% and CRF01_AE/BC/A2 (3.3%, plus two potential CRFs. This study elucidated the complicated characteristics of HIV-1 molecular epidemiology in a low HIV-1 prevalence northern province of China and revealed the high level of HIV-1 genetic diversity. All nine HIV-1 genotypes circulating in Hebei have spread out of their initial risk groups into the general population through sexual contact, especially through MSM. This highlights the urgency of HIV prevention and control in China.

Generation of a functional and durable vascular niche by the adenoviral E4ORF1 gene

OpenAIRE

Seandel, Marco; Butler, Jason M.; Kobayashi, Hideki; Hooper, Andrea T.; White, Ian A.; Zhang, Fan; Vertes, Eva L.; Kobayashi, Mariko; Zhang, Yan; Shmelkov, Sergey V.; Hackett, Neil R.; Rabbany, Sina; Boyer, Julie L.; Rafii, Shahin

2008-01-01

Vascular cells contribute to organogenesis and tumorigenesis by producing unknown factors. Primary endothelial cells (PECs) provide an instructive platform for identifying factors that support stem cell and tumor homeostasis. However, long-term maintenance of PECs requires stimulation with cytokines and serum, resulting in loss of their angiogenic properties. To circumvent this hurdle, we have discovered that the adenoviral E4ORF1 gene product maintains long-term survival and facilitates orga...

μ-opioid modulation of HIV-1 coreceptor expressionand HIV-1 replication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steele, Amber D.; Henderson, Earl E.; Rogers, Thomas J.

2003-01-01

A substantial proportion of HIV-1-infected individuals are intravenous drug users (IVDUs) who abuse opiates. Opioids induce a number of immunomodulatory effects that may directly influence HIV-1 disease progression. In the present report, we have investigated the effect of opioids on the expression of the major HIV-1 coreceptors CXCR4 and CCR5. For these studies we have focused on opiates which are ligands for the μ-opioid receptor. Our results show that DAMGO, a selective μ-opioid agonist, increases CXCR4 and CCR5 expression in both CD3 + lymphoblasts and CD14 + monocytes three- to fivefold. Furthermore, DAMGO-induced elevation of HIV-1 coreceptor expression translates into enhanced replication of both X4 and R5 viral strains of HIV-1. We have confirmed the role of the μ-opioid receptor based on the ability of a μ-opioid receptor-selective antagonist to block the effects of DAMGO. We have also found that morphine enhances CXCR4 and CCR5 expression and subsequently increases both X4 and R5 HIV-1 infection. We suggest that the capacity of μ-opioids to increase HIV-1 coreceptor expression and replication may promote viral binding, trafficking of HIV-1-infected cells, and enhanced disease progression

Virtual Screening Models for Prediction of HIV-1 RT Associated RNase H Inhibition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poongavanam, Vasanthanathan; Kongsted, Jacob

2013-01-01

The increasing resistance to current therapeutic agents for HIV drug regiment remains a major problem for effective acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) therapy. Many potential inhibitors have today been developed which inhibits key cellular pathways in the HIV cycle. Inhibition of HIV-1...... databases. The methods used here include machine-learning algorithms (e.g. support vector machine, random forest and kappa nearest neighbor), shape similarity (rapid overlay of chemical structures), pharmacophore, molecular interaction fields-based fingerprints for ligands and protein (FLAP) and flexible...... for identifying structurally diverse and selective RNase H inhibitors from large chemical databases. In addition, pharmacophore models suggest that the inter-distance between hydrogen bond acceptors play a key role in inhibition of the RNase H domain through metal chelation....

VectorBase

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — VectorBase is a Bioinformatics Resource Center for invertebrate vectors. It is one of four Bioinformatics Resource Centers funded by NIAID to provide web-based...

Gene therapy for barrett's esophagus: adenoviral gene transfer in different intestinal models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marsman, Willem A.; Buskens, Christianne J.; Wesseling, John G.; van Lanschot, J. Jan B.; Bosma, Piter J.

2005-01-01

Adenoviral gene therapy could potentially be used for treatment of patients with a Barrett's esophagus. In order to study the feasibility of this approach it is important to study adenoviral intestinal transduction both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we used differentiating Caco-2

Long-lived tissue resident HIV-1 specific memory CD8+ T cells are generated by skin immunization with live virus vectored microneedle arrays

OpenAIRE

Zaric, Marija; Becker, Pablo Daniel; Hervouet, Catherine; Kalcheva, Petya; Ibarzo Yus, Barbara; Cocita, Clement; O'Neill, Lauren Alexandra; Kwon, Sung-Yun; Klavinskis, Linda Sylvia

2017-01-01

The generation of tissue resident memory (TRM) cells at the body surfaces to provide a front line defence against invading pathogens represents an important goal in vaccine development for a wide variety of pathogens. It has been widely assumed that local vaccine delivery to the mucosae is necessary to achieve that aim. Here we characterise a novel micro-needle array (MA) delivery system fabricated to deliver a live recombinant human adenovirus type 5 vaccine vector (AdHu5) encoding HIV-1 gag...

The second chance story of HIV-1 DNA: Unintegrated? Not a problem!

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yuntao

2008-07-09

Accumulation of high levels of unintegrated viral DNA is a common feature of retroviral infection. It was recently discovered that coinfection of cells with integrated and unintegrated HIV-1 can result in complementation, allowing viral replication in the absence of integration. This new mode of HIV-1 replication has numerous implications for the function of unintegrated viral DNA and its application as a therapeutic vector.

Inhibition of HIV Replication by Cyclic and Hairpin PNAs Targeting the HIV-1 TAR RNA Loop

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Upert, Gregory; Di Giorgio, Audrey; Upadhyay, Alok; Manvar, Dinesh; Pandey, Nootan; Pandey, Virendra N.; Patino, Nadia

2012-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) replication and gene expression entails specific interaction of the viral protein Tat with its transactivation responsive element (TAR), to form a highly stable stem-bulge-loop structure. Previously, we described triphenylphosphonium (TPP) cation-based vectors that efficiently deliver nucleotide analogs (PNAs) into the cytoplasm of cells. In particular, we showed that the TPP conjugate of a linear 16-mer PNA targeting the apical stem-loop region of TAR impedes Tat-mediated transactivation of the HIV-1 LTR in vitro and also in cell culture systems. In this communication, we conjugated TPP to cyclic and hairpin PNAs targeting the loop region of HIV-1 TAR and evaluated their antiviral efficacy in a cell culture system. We found that TPP-cyclic PNAs containing only 8 residues, showed higher antiviral potency compared to hairpin PNAs of 12 or 16 residues. We further noted that the TPP-conjugates of the 8-mer cyclic PNA as well as the 16-mer linear PNA displayed similar antiviral efficacy. However, cyclic PNAs were shown to be highly specific to their target sequences. This communication emphasizes on the importance of small constrained cyclic PNAs over both linear and hairpin structures for targeting biologically relevant RNA hairpins. PMID:23029603

Inhibition of HIV Replication by Cyclic and Hairpin PNAs Targeting the HIV-1 TAR RNA Loop

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Gregory Upert

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1 replication and gene expression entails specific interaction of the viral protein Tat with its transactivation responsive element (TAR, to form a highly stable stem-bulge-loop structure. Previously, we described triphenylphosphonium (TPP cation-based vectors that efficiently deliver nucleotide analogs (PNAs into the cytoplasm of cells. In particular, we showed that the TPP conjugate of a linear 16-mer PNA targeting the apical stem-loop region of TAR impedes Tat-mediated transactivation of the HIV-1 LTR in vitro and also in cell culture systems. In this communication, we conjugated TPP to cyclic and hairpin PNAs targeting the loop region of HIV-1 TAR and evaluated their antiviral efficacy in a cell culture system. We found that TPP-cyclic PNAs containing only 8 residues, showed higher antiviral potency compared to hairpin PNAs of 12 or 16 residues. We further noted that the TPP-conjugates of the 8-mer cyclic PNA as well as the 16-mer linear PNA displayed similar antiviral efficacy. However, cyclic PNAs were shown to be highly specific to their target sequences. This communication emphasizes on the importance of small constrained cyclic PNAs over both linear and hairpin structures for targeting biologically relevant RNA hairpins.

Fragment Based Strategies for Discovery of Novel HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase and Integrase Inhibitors.

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Latham, Catherine F; La, Jennifer; Tinetti, Ricky N; Chalmers, David K; Tachedjian, Gilda

2016-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a global health problem. While combined antiretroviral therapy has been successful in controlling the virus in patients, HIV can develop resistance to drugs used for treatment, rendering available drugs less effective and limiting treatment options. Initiatives to find novel drugs for HIV treatment are ongoing, although traditional drug design approaches often focus on known binding sites for inhibition of established drug targets like reverse transcriptase and integrase. These approaches tend towards generating more inhibitors in the same drug classes already used in the clinic. Lack of diversity in antiretroviral drug classes can result in limited treatment options, as cross-resistance can emerge to a whole drug class in patients treated with only one drug from that class. A fresh approach in the search for new HIV-1 drugs is fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD), a validated strategy for drug discovery based on using smaller libraries of low molecular weight molecules (FBDD is aimed at not only finding novel drug scaffolds, but also probing the target protein to find new, often allosteric, inhibitory binding sites. Several fragment-based strategies have been successful in identifying novel inhibitory sites or scaffolds for two proven drug targets for HIV-1, reverse transcriptase and integrase. While any FBDD-generated HIV-1 drugs have yet to enter the clinic, recent FBDD initiatives against these two well-characterised HIV-1 targets have reinvigorated antiretroviral drug discovery and the search for novel classes of HIV-1 drugs.

Safety and immunogenicity of an HIV adenoviral vector boost after DNA plasmid vaccine prime by route of administration: a randomized clinical trial.

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Beryl A Koblin

Full Text Available In the development of HIV vaccines, improving immunogenicity while maintaining safety is critical. Route of administration can be an important factor.This multicenter, open-label, randomized trial, HVTN 069, compared routes of administration on safety and immunogenicity of a DNA vaccine prime given intramuscularly at 0, 1 and 2 months and a recombinant replication-defective adenovirus type 5 (rAd5 vaccine boost given at 6 months by intramuscular (IM, intradermal (ID, or subcutaneous (SC route. Randomization was computer-generated by a central data management center; participants and staff were not blinded to group assignment. The outcomes were vaccine reactogenicity and humoral and cellular immunogenicity. Ninety healthy, HIV-1 uninfected adults in the US and Peru, aged 18-50 were enrolled and randomized. Due to the results of the Step Study, injections with rAd5 vaccine were halted; thus 61 received the booster dose of rAd5 vaccine (IM: 20; ID:21; SC:20. After the rAd5 boost, significant differences by study arm were found in severity of headache, pain and erythema/induration. Immune responses (binding and neutralizing antibodies, IFN-γ ELISpot HIV-specific responses and CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses by ICS at four weeks after the rAd5 booster were not significantly different by administration route of the rAd5 vaccine boost (Binding antibody responses: IM: 66.7%; ID: 70.0%; SC: 77.8%; neutralizing antibody responses: IM: 11.1%; ID: 0.0%; SC 16.7%; ELISpot responses: IM: 46.7%; ID: 35.3%; SC: 44.4%; CD4+ T-cell responses: IM: 29.4%; ID: 20.0%; SC: 35.3%; CD8+ T-cell responses: IM: 29.4%; ID: 16.7%; SC: 50.0%.This study was limited by the reduced sample size. The higher frequency of local reactions after ID and SC administration and the lack of sufficient evidence to show that there were any differences in immunogenicity by route of administration do not support changing route of administration for the rAd5 boost.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00384787.

Loss of Endothelial Barrier in Marfan Mice (mgR/mgR Results in Severe Inflammation after Adenoviral Gene Therapy.

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Philipp Christian Seppelt

Full Text Available Marfan syndrome is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder of connective tissue. The vascular complications of Marfan syndrome have the biggest impact on life expectancy. The aorta of Marfan patients reveals degradation of elastin layers caused by increased proteolytic activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs. In this study we performed adenoviral gene transfer of human tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-1 (hTIMP-1 in aortic grafts of fibrillin-1 deficient Marfan mice (mgR/mgR in order to reduce elastolysis.We performed heterotopic infrarenal transplantation of the thoracic aorta in female mice (n = 7 per group. Before implantation, mgR/mgR and wild-type aortas (WT, C57BL/6 were transduced ex vivo with an adenoviral vector coding for human TIMP-1 (Ad.hTIMP-1 or β-galactosidase (Ad.β-Gal. As control mgR/mgR and wild-type aortas received no gene therapy. Thirty days after surgery, overexpression of the transgene was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC and collagen in situ zymography. Histologic staining was performed to investigate inflammation, the neointimal index (NI, and elastin breaks. Endothelial barrier function of native not virus-exposed aortas was evaluated by perfusion of fluorescent albumin and examinations of virus-exposed tissue were performed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM.IHC and ISZ revealed sufficient expression of the transgene. Severe cellular inflammation and intima hyperplasia were seen only in adenovirus treated mgR/mgR aortas (Ad.β-Gal, Ad.hTIMP-1 NI: 0.23; 0.43, but not in native and Ad.hTIMP-1 treated WT (NI: 0.01; 0.00. Compared to native mgR/mgR and Ad.hTIMP-1 treated WT aorta, the NI is highly significant greater in Ad.hTIMP-1 transduced mgR/mgR aorta (p = 0.001; p = 0.001. As expected, untreated Marfan grafts showed significant more elastolysis compared to WT (p = 0.001. However, elastolysis in Marfan aortas was not reduced by adenoviral overexpression of hTIMP-1 (compared to untreated

When should adenoviral non-gonococcal urethritis be suspected? Two case reports.

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Avolio, Manuela; De Rosa, Rita; Modolo, Maria Luisa; Stano, Paola; Camporese, Alessandro

2014-01-01

The impact of Adenovirus as agent of non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is still poorly documented in the literature. We describe two cases showing that adenoviral infection should be reasonably hypothesized in men with dysuria and scant urethral discharge in addition to meatus inflammation and/or edema (meatitis) or conjunctivitis. Case 1: a 55-year-old man came to our observation in July 2012 referring a 5-day-history of intense dysuria and scant mucoid urethral discharge. Physical examination revealed the urethral discharge referred, but also modest meatitis and an intense conjunctival hyperemia on his right eye. Adenoviral infection was investigated and Adenovirus DNA (type 37) was detected in both the urethral and conjunctival swabs. Case 2: a 43-year-old man with intense dysuria, started 4-5 days earlier, came to our attention with his wife in August 2012. Scant urethral mucoid secretions, severe meatal inflammation of the male patient were revealed during physical examination. His wife instead complained of a 2-day history of intense burning eyes. Adenoviral infection was investigated and Adenovirus DNA (type 37) was positive both in the male urethral swab and in his wife's conjunctival swab. Adenovirus seems to cause a distinct and recognisable clinical syndrome in men presenting with urethritis. Studies on the prevalence and role of Adenovirus as a causative agent of urethritis are limited. Moreover, as rapid advanced molecular microbiology is now available, we believe that extending the search to Adenovirus in sexually active men with dysuria, scant discharge in addition to meatitis or conjunctivitis, should be a useful approach improving our understanding about adenoviral NGU, and especially avoiding or stopping unnecessary empirical antibiotic therapy.

The second chance story of HIV-1 DNA: Unintegrated? Not a problem!

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Wu Yuntao

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Accumulation of high levels of unintegrated viral DNA is a common feature of retroviral infection. It was recently discovered that coinfection of cells with integrated and unintegrated HIV-1 can result in complementation, allowing viral replication in the absence of integration. This new mode of HIV-1 replication has numerous implications for the function of unintegrated viral DNA and its application as a therapeutic vector.

Structural similarity-based predictions of protein interactions between HIV-1 and Homo sapiens

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Gomez Shawn M

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the course of infection, viruses such as HIV-1 must enter a cell, travel to sites where they can hijack host machinery to transcribe their genes and translate their proteins, assemble, and then leave the cell again, all while evading the host immune system. Thus, successful infection depends on the pathogen's ability to manipulate the biological pathways and processes of the organism it infects. Interactions between HIV-encoded and human proteins provide one means by which HIV-1 can connect into cellular pathways to carry out these survival processes. Results We developed and applied a computational approach to predict interactions between HIV and human proteins based on structural similarity of 9 HIV-1 proteins to human proteins having known interactions. Using functional data from RNAi studies as a filter, we generated over 2000 interaction predictions between HIV proteins and 406 unique human proteins. Additional filtering based on Gene Ontology cellular component annotation reduced the number of predictions to 502 interactions involving 137 human proteins. We find numerous known interactions as well as novel interactions showing significant functional relevance based on supporting Gene Ontology and literature evidence. Conclusions Understanding the interplay between HIV-1 and its human host will help in understanding the viral lifecycle and the ways in which this virus is able to manipulate its host. The results shown here provide a potential set of interactions that are amenable to further experimental manipulation as well as potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

Metabolic flux profiling of MDCK cells during growth and canine adenovirus vector production.

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Carinhas, Nuno; Pais, Daniel A M; Koshkin, Alexey; Fernandes, Paulo; Coroadinha, Ana S; Carrondo, Manuel J T; Alves, Paula M; Teixeira, Ana P

2016-03-23

Canine adenovirus vector type 2 (CAV2) represents an alternative to human adenovirus vectors for certain gene therapy applications, particularly neurodegenerative diseases. However, more efficient production processes, assisted by a greater understanding of the effect of infection on producer cells, are required. Combining [1,2-(13)C]glucose and [U-(13)C]glutamine, we apply for the first time (13)C-Metabolic flux analysis ((13)C-MFA) to study E1-transformed Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells metabolism during growth and CAV2 production. MDCK cells displayed a marked glycolytic and ammoniagenic metabolism, and (13)C data revealed a large fraction of glutamine-derived labelling in TCA cycle intermediates, emphasizing the role of glutamine anaplerosis. (13)C-MFA demonstrated the importance of pyruvate cycling in balancing glycolytic and TCA cycle activities, as well as occurrence of reductive alphaketoglutarate (AKG) carboxylation. By turn, CAV2 infection significantly upregulated fluxes through most central metabolism, including glycolysis, pentose-phosphate pathway, glutamine anaplerosis and, more prominently, reductive AKG carboxylation and cytosolic acetyl-coenzyme A formation, suggestive of increased lipogenesis. Based on these results, we suggest culture supplementation strategies to stimulate nucleic acid and lipid biosynthesis for improved canine adenoviral vector production.

Engineering HIV-1-resistant T-cells from short-hairpin RNA-expressing hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells in humanized BLT mice.

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Gene-Errol E Ringpis

Full Text Available Down-regulation of the HIV-1 coreceptor CCR5 holds significant potential for long-term protection against HIV-1 in patients. Using the humanized bone marrow/liver/thymus (hu-BLT mouse model which allows investigation of human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC transplant and immune system reconstitution as well as HIV-1 infection, we previously demonstrated stable inhibition of CCR5 expression in systemic lymphoid tissues via transplantation of HSPCs genetically modified by lentiviral vector transduction to express short hairpin RNA (shRNA. However, CCR5 down-regulation will not be effective against existing CXCR4-tropic HIV-1 and emergence of resistant viral strains. As such, combination approaches targeting additional steps in the virus lifecycle are required. We screened a panel of previously published shRNAs targeting highly conserved regions and identified a potent shRNA targeting the R-region of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR. Here, we report that human CD4(+ T-cells derived from transplanted HSPC engineered to co-express shRNAs targeting CCR5 and HIV-1 LTR are resistant to CCR5- and CXCR4- tropic HIV-1-mediated depletion in vivo. Transduction with the combination vector suppressed CXCR4- and CCR5- tropic viral replication in cell lines and peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro. No obvious cytotoxicity or interferon response was observed. Transplantation of combination vector-transduced HSPC into hu-BLT mice resulted in efficient engraftment and subsequent stable gene marking and CCR5 down-regulation in human CD4(+ T-cells within peripheral blood and systemic lymphoid tissues, including gut-associated lymphoid tissue, a major site of robust viral replication, for over twelve weeks. CXCR4- and CCR5- tropic HIV-1 infection was effectively inhibited in hu-BLT mouse spleen-derived human CD4(+ T-cells ex vivo. Furthermore, levels of gene-marked CD4(+ T-cells in peripheral blood increased despite systemic infection with either

The HIV-1 Rev/RRE system is required for HIV-1 5' UTR cis elements to augment encapsidation of heterologous RNA into HIV-1 viral particles

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Ma Hong

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The process of HIV-1 genomic RNA (gRNA encapsidation is governed by a number of viral encoded components, most notably the Gag protein and gRNA cis elements in the canonical packaging signal (ψ. Also implicated in encapsidation are cis determinants in the R, U5, and PBS (primer binding site from the 5' untranslated region (UTR. Although conventionally associated with nuclear export of HIV-1 RNA, there is a burgeoning role for the Rev/RRE in the encapsidation process. Pleiotropic effects exhibited by these cis and trans viral components may confound the ability to examine their independent, and combined, impact on encapsidation of RNA into HIV-1 viral particles in their innate viral context. We systematically reconstructed the HIV-1 packaging system in the context of a heterologous murine leukemia virus (MLV vector RNA to elucidate a mechanism in which the Rev/RRE system is central to achieving efficient and specific encapsidation into HIV-1 viral particles. Results We show for the first time that the Rev/RRE system can augment RNA encapsidation independent of all cis elements from the 5' UTR (R, U5, PBS, and ψ. Incorporation of all the 5' UTR cis elements did not enhance RNA encapsidation in the absence of the Rev/RRE system. In fact, we demonstrate that the Rev/RRE system is required for specific and efficient encapsidation commonly associated with the canonical packaging signal. The mechanism of Rev/RRE-mediated encapsidation is not a general phenomenon, since the combination of the Rev/RRE system and 5' UTR cis elements did not enhance encapsidation into MLV-derived viral particles. Lastly, we show that heterologous MLV RNAs conform to transduction properties commonly associated with HIV-1 viral particles, including in vivo transduction of non-dividing cells (i.e. mouse neurons; however, the cDNA forms are episomes predominantly in the 1-LTR circle form. Conclusions Premised on encapsidation of a heterologous RNA into

Coating with spermine-pullulan polymer enhances adenoviral transduction of mesenchymal stem cells

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Wan L

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Li Wan,1,* Xinglei Yao,1–3,* Francesco Faiola,3 Bojun Liu,4 Tianyuan Zhang,2 Yasuhiko Tabata,5 Hiroyuki Mizuguchi,6 Shinsaku Nakagawa,7 Jian-Qing Gao,2 Robert Chunhua Zhao1 1Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Center of Excellence in Tissue Engineering Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 2Institute of Pharmaceutics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 3State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 4YouAn Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Biomaterials, Field of Tissue Engineering, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 6Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka, 7Department of Biotechnology and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs are adult stem cells with multilineage potential, which makes them attractive tools for regenerative medicine applications. Efficient gene transfer into MSCs is essential not only for basic research in developmental biology but also for therapeutic applications involving gene-modification in regenerative medicine. Adenovirus vectors (Advs can efficiently and transiently introduce an exogenous gene into many cell types via their primary receptors, the coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptors, but not into MSCs, which are deficient in coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptors expression. To overcome this problem, we developed an Adv coated with a spermine-pullulan (SP cationic polymer and investigated its physicochemical properties and internalization mechanisms. We demonstrated that the SP

Antioxidant enzyme gene delivery to protect from HIV-1 gp120-induced neuronal apoptosis.

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Agrawal, L; Louboutin, J-P; Reyes, B A S; Van Bockstaele, E J; Strayer, D S

2006-12-01

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection in the central nervous system (CNS) may lead to neuronal loss and progressively deteriorating CNS function: HIV-1 gene products, especially gp120, induce free radical-mediated apoptosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), are among the potential mediators of these effects. Neurons readily form ROS after gp120 exposure, and so might be protected from ROS-mediated injury by antioxidant enzymes such as Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and/or glutathione peroxidase (GPx1). Both enzymes detoxify oxygen free radicals. As they are highly efficient gene delivery vehicles for neurons, recombinant SV40-derived vectors were used for these studies. Cultured mature neurons derived from NT2 cells and primary fetal neurons were transduced with rSV40 vectors carrying human SOD1 and/or GPx1 cDNAs, then exposed to gp120. Apoptosis was measured by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Transduction efficiency of both neuron populations was >95%, as assayed by immunostaining. Transgene expression was also ascertained by Western blotting and direct assays of enzyme activity. Gp120 induced apoptosis in a high percentage of unprotected NT2-N. Transduction with SV(SOD1) and SV(GPx1) before gp120 challenge reduced neuronal apoptosis by >90%. Even greater protection was seen in cells treated with both vectors in sequence. Given singly or in combination, they protect neuronal cells from HIV-1-gp120 induced apoptosis. We tested whether rSV40 s can deliver antioxidant enzymes to the CNS in vivo: intracerebral injection of SV(SOD1) or SV(GPx1) into the caudate putamen of rat brain yielded excellent transgene expression in neurons. In vivo transduction using SV(SOD1) also protected neurons from subsequent gp120-induced apoptosis after injection of both into the caudate putamen of rat brain. Thus, SOD1 and GPx1 can be delivered by SV40 vectors in vitro or in vivo. This approach may merit consideration for

Future prospects for the development of cost-effective Adenovirus vaccines

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Fougeroux, Cyrielle; Holst, Peter J

2017-01-01

-vectored vaccine technology with a focus on adenoviral-based vaccines. Adenovirus (Ad) vaccines have proven to be efficient in military vaccinations against Ad4 and Ad7 and as highly efficient vectored vaccines against rabies. The question of how other adenovirus-based vaccines can become as efficient...... as the rabies vaccine is the underlying theme in this review. Here, we will first give an overview of the basic properties of vectored vaccines, followed by an introduction to the characteristics of adenoviral vectors and previously tested modifications of the vector backbone and expression cassettes...

E1(-)E4(+) adenoviral gene transfer vectors function as a "pro-life" signal to promote survival of primary human endothelial cells.

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Ramalingam, R; Rafii, S; Worgall, S; Brough, D E; Crystal, R G

1999-05-01

Although endothelial cells are quiescent and long-lived in vivo, when they are removed from blood vessels and cultured in vitro they die within days to weeks. In studies of the interaction of E1(-)E4(+) replication-deficient adenovirus (Ad) vectors and human endothelium, the cells remained quiescent and were viable for prolonged periods. Evaluation of these cultures showed that E1(-)E4(+) Ad vectors provide an "antiapoptotic" signal that, in association with an increase in the ratio of Bcl2 to Bax levels, induces the endothelial cells to enter a state of "suspended animation," remaining viable for at least 30 days, even in the absence of serum and growth factors. Although the mechanisms initiating these events are unclear, the antiapoptoic signal requires the presence of E4 genes in the vector genome, suggesting that one or more E4 open reading frames of subgroup C Ad initiate a "pro-life" program that modifies cultured endothelial cells to survive for prolonged periods.

Adenoviral infection in a collection of juvenile inland bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps).

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Doneley, R J T; Buckle, K N; Hulse, L

2014-01-01

Juvenile inland bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) from a breeding collection in south-east Queensland were presented at age 6-10 weeks with neurological signs, poor growth and occasional deaths. Histopathological examination revealed that six of eight lizards had multifocal non-suppurative hepatitis associated with 5-10 μm diameter, smudgy, basophilic, hyaline intranuclear inclusion bodies that marginated the nuclear chromatin. These histological lesions were considered consistent with adenoviral hepatitis. Infection with adenovirus was confirmed positive in one of the eight dragons by PCR for adenoviral DNA. DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded pooled tissues of the juvenile inland bearded dragons and tested using a nested-PCR protocol with primers specific for identification of adenovirus. Sequencing of the one PCR-positive dragon showed 95% nucleotide sequence alignment with agamid atadenovirus 1. Further investigation involved testing the breeding population, including the parents of the affected juveniles. Blood and cloacal samples were collected from the adult population, DNA was extracted and tested by PCR for adenovirus. There was a high percentage of positive results from the samples collected from the breeding population. This is the first reported group outbreak of adenoviral disease in bearded dragons in Australia. © 2014 Australian Veterinary Association.

Molecular beacon probes-base multiplex NASBA Real-time for detection of HIV-1 and HCV.

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Mohammadi-Yeganeh, S; Paryan, M; Mirab Samiee, S; Kia, V; Rezvan, H

2012-06-01

Developed in 1991, nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) has been introduced as a rapid molecular diagnostic technique, where it has been shown to give quicker results than PCR, and it can also be more sensitive. This paper describes the development of a molecular beacon-based multiplex NASBA assay for simultaneous detection of HIV-1 and HCV in plasma samples. A well-conserved region in the HIV-1 pol gene and 5'-NCR of HCV genome were used for primers and molecular beacon design. The performance features of HCV/HIV-1 multiplex NASBA assay including analytical sensitivity and specificity, clinical sensitivity and clinical specificity were evaluated. The analysis of scalar concentrations of the samples indicated that the limit of quantification of the assay was beacon probes detected all HCV genotypes and all major variants of HIV-1. This method may represent a relatively inexpensive isothermal method for detection of HIV-1/HCV co-infection in monitoring of patients.

Analytical Performances of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 RNA-Based Amplix® Real-Time PCR Platform for HIV-1 RNA Quantification

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Christian Diamant Mossoro-Kpinde

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. We evaluated the performances of Amplix real-time PCR platform developed by Biosynex (Strasbourg, France, combining automated station extraction (Amplix station 16 Dx and real-time PCR (Amplix NG, for quantifying plasma HIV-1 RNA by lyophilized HIV-1 RNA-based Amplix reagents targeting gag and LTR, using samples from HIV-1-infected adults from Central African Republic. Results. Amplix real-time PCR assay showed low limit of detection (28 copies/mL, across wide dynamic range (1.4–10 log copies/mL, 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity, high reproducibility, and accuracy with mean bias < 5%. The assay showed excellent correlations and concordance of 95.3% with the reference HIV-1 RNA load assay (Roche, with mean absolute bias of +0.097 log copies/mL by Bland-Altman analysis. The assay was able to detect and quantify the most prevalent HIV-1 subtype strains and the majority of non-B subtypes, CRFs of HIV-1 group M, and HIV-1 groups N and O circulating in Central Africa. The Amplix assay showed 100% sensitivity and 99.6% specificity to diagnose virological failure in clinical samples from antiretroviral drug-experienced patients. Conclusions. The HIV-1 RNA-based Amplix real-time PCR platform constitutes sensitive and reliable system for clinical monitoring of HIV-1 RNA load in HIV-1-infected children and adults, particularly adapted to intermediate laboratory facilities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Adenoviral-mediated correction of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase deficiency in murine fibroblasts and human hepatocytes

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Korson Mark

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA, a common organic aciduria, is caused by deficiency of the mitochondrial localized, 5'deoxyadenosylcobalamin dependent enzyme, methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MUT. Liver transplantation in the absence of gross hepatic dysfunction provides supportive therapy and metabolic stability in severely affected patients, which invites the concept of using cell and gene delivery as future treatments for this condition. Methods To assess the effectiveness of gene delivery to restore the defective metabolism in this disorder, adenoviral correction experiments were performed using murine Mut embryonic fibroblasts and primary human methylmalonyl-CoA mutase deficient hepatocytes derived from a patient who harbored two early truncating mutations, E224X and R228X, in the MUT gene. Enzymatic and expression studies were used to assess the extent of functional correction. Results Primary hepatocytes, isolated from the native liver after removal subsequent to a combined liver-kidney transplantation procedure, or Mut murine fibroblasts were infected with a second generation recombinant adenoviral vector that expressed the murine methylmalonyl-CoA mutase as well as eGFP from distinct promoters. After transduction, [1-14C] propionate macromolecular incorporation studies and Western analysis demonstrated complete correction of the enzymatic defect in both cell types. Viral reconstitution of enzymatic expression in the human methylmalonyl-CoA mutase deficient hepatocytes exceeded that seen in fibroblasts or control hepatocytes. Conclusion These experiments provide proof of principle for viral correction in methylmalonic acidemia and suggest that hepatocyte-directed gene delivery will be an effective therapeutic treatment strategy in both murine models and in human patients. Primary hepatocytes from a liver that was unsuitable for transplantation provided an important resource for these studies.

A European multicientre study on the comparison of HIV-1 viral loads between VERIS HIV-1 Assay and Roche COBAS® TAQMAN® HIV-1 test, Abbott RealTime HIV-1 Assay, and Siemens VERSANT HIV-1 Assay.

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Braun, Patrick; Delgado, Rafael; Drago, Monica; Fanti, Diana; Fleury, Hervé; Hofmann, Jörg; Izopet, Jacques; Kühn, Sebastian; Lombardi, Alessandra; Mancon, Alessandro; Marcos, Mª Angeles; Mileto, Davide; Sauné, Karine; O'Shea, Siobhan; Pérez-Rivilla, Alfredo; Ramble, John; Trimoulet, Pascale; Vila, Jordi; Whittaker, Duncan; Artus, Alain; Rhodes, Daniel

2017-07-01

Viral load monitoring is essential for patients under treatment for HIV. Beckman Coulter has developed the VERIS HIV-1 Assay for use on the novel, automated DxN VERIS Molecular Diagnostics System. ¥ OBJECTIVES: Evaluation of the clinical performance of the new quantitative VERIS HIV-1 Assay at multiple EU laboratories. Method comparison with the VERIS HIV-1 Assay was performed with 415 specimens at 5 sites tested with COBAS ® AmpliPrep/COBAS ® TaqMan ® HIV-1 Test, v2.0, 169 specimens at 3 sites tested with RealTime HIV-1 Assay, and 202 specimens from 2 sites tested with VERSANT HIV-1 Assay. Patient monitoring sample results from 4 sites were also compared. Bland-Altman analysis showed the average bias between VERIS HIV-1 Assay and COBAS HIV-1 Test, RealTime HIV-1 Assay, and VERSANT HIV-1 Assay to be 0.28, 0.39, and 0.61 log 10 cp/mL, respectively. Bias at low end levels below 1000cp/mL showed predicted bias to be <0.3 log 10 cp/mL for VERIS HIV-1 Assay versus COBAS HIV-1 Test and RealTime HIV-1 Assay, and <0.5 log 10 cp/mL versus VERSANT HIV-1 Assay. Analysis on 174 specimens tested with the 0.175mL volume VERIS HIV-1 Assay and COBAS HIV-1 Test showed average bias of 0.39 log 10 cp/mL. Patient monitoring results using VERIS HIV-1 Assay demonstrated similar viral load trends over time to all comparators. The VERIS HIV-1 Assay for use on the DxN VERIS System demonstrated comparable clinical performance to COBAS ® HIV-1 Test, RealTime HIV-1 Assay, and VERSANT HIV-1 Assay. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

HIV-1 Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

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Vanangamudi, Murugesan; Poongavanam, Vasanthanathan; Namasivayam, Vigneshwaran

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Design of inhibitors for HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition (HIV-1 RT) is one of the successful chemotherapies for the treatment of HIV infection. Among the inhibitors available for HIV-1 RT, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) have shown to be very promising......: The conformation dependent-alignment based (CoMFA and CoMSIA) methods have been proven very successful ligand based strategy in the drug design. Here, CoMFA and CoMSIA studies reported for structurally distinct NNRTIs including thiazolobenzimidazole, dipyridodiazepinone, 1,1,3-trioxo [1,2,4]-thiadiazine...

Effects of Vector Backbone and Pseudotype on Lentiviral Vector-mediated Gene Transfer: Studies in Infant ADA-Deficient Mice and Rhesus Monkeys

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Carbonaro Sarracino, Denise; Tarantal, Alice F; Lee, C Chang I.; Martinez, Michele; Jin, Xiangyang; Wang, Xiaoyan; Hardee, Cinnamon L; Geiger, Sabine; Kahl, Christoph A; Kohn, Donald B

2014-01-01

Systemic delivery of a lentiviral vector carrying a therapeutic gene represents a new treatment for monogenic disease. Previously, we have shown that transfer of the adenosine deaminase (ADA) cDNA in vivo rescues the lethal phenotype and reconstitutes immune function in ADA-deficient mice. In order to translate this approach to ADA-deficient severe combined immune deficiency patients, neonatal ADA-deficient mice and newborn rhesus monkeys were treated with species-matched and mismatched vectors and pseudotypes. We compared gene delivery by the HIV-1-based vector to murine γ-retroviral vectors pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein or murine retroviral envelopes in ADA-deficient mice. The vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein pseudotyped lentiviral vectors had the highest titer and resulted in the highest vector copy number in multiple tissues, particularly liver and lung. In monkeys, HIV-1 or simian immunodeficiency virus vectors resulted in similar biodistribution in most tissues including bone marrow, spleen, liver, and lung. Simian immunodeficiency virus pseudotyped with the gibbon ape leukemia virus envelope produced 10- to 30-fold lower titers than the vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein pseudotype, but had a similar tissue biodistribution and similar copy number in blood cells. The relative copy numbers achieved in mice and monkeys were similar when adjusted to the administered dose per kg. These results suggest that this approach can be scaled-up to clinical levels for treatment of ADA-deficient severe combined immune deficiency subjects with suboptimal hematopoietic stem cell transplantation options. PMID:24925206

Effects of vector backbone and pseudotype on lentiviral vector-mediated gene transfer: studies in infant ADA-deficient mice and rhesus monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Carbonaro Sarracino, Denise; Tarantal, Alice F; Lee, C Chang I; Martinez, Michele; Jin, Xiangyang; Wang, Xiaoyan; Hardee, Cinnamon L; Geiger, Sabine; Kahl, Christoph A; Kohn, Donald B

2014-10-01

Systemic delivery of a lentiviral vector carrying a therapeutic gene represents a new treatment for monogenic disease. Previously, we have shown that transfer of the adenosine deaminase (ADA) cDNA in vivo rescues the lethal phenotype and reconstitutes immune function in ADA-deficient mice. In order to translate this approach to ADA-deficient severe combined immune deficiency patients, neonatal ADA-deficient mice and newborn rhesus monkeys were treated with species-matched and mismatched vectors and pseudotypes. We compared gene delivery by the HIV-1-based vector to murine γ-retroviral vectors pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein or murine retroviral envelopes in ADA-deficient mice. The vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein pseudotyped lentiviral vectors had the highest titer and resulted in the highest vector copy number in multiple tissues, particularly liver and lung. In monkeys, HIV-1 or simian immunodeficiency virus vectors resulted in similar biodistribution in most tissues including bone marrow, spleen, liver, and lung. Simian immunodeficiency virus pseudotyped with the gibbon ape leukemia virus envelope produced 10- to 30-fold lower titers than the vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein pseudotype, but had a similar tissue biodistribution and similar copy number in blood cells. The relative copy numbers achieved in mice and monkeys were similar when adjusted to the administered dose per kg. These results suggest that this approach can be scaled-up to clinical levels for treatment of ADA-deficient severe combined immune deficiency subjects with suboptimal hematopoietic stem cell transplantation options.

Novel engineered HIV-1 East African Clade-A gp160 plasmid construct induces strong humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in vivo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muthumani, Karuppiah; Zhang Donghui; Dayes, Nathanael S.; Hwang, Daniel S.; Calarota, Sandra A.; Choo, Andrew Y.; Boyer, Jean D.; Weiner, David B.

2003-01-01

HIV-1 sequences are highly diverse due to the inaccuracy of the viral reverse transcriptase. This diversity has been studied and used to categorize HIV isolates into subtypes or clades, which are geographically distinct. To develop effective vaccines against HIV-1, immunogens representing different subtypes may be important for induction of cross-protective immunity, but little data exist describing and comparing the immunogenicity induced by different subtype-based vaccines. This issue is further complicated by poor expression of HIV structural antigens due to rev dependence. One costly approach is to codon optimize each subtype construct to be examined. Interestingly, cis-acting transcriptional elements (CTE) can also by pass rev restriction by a rev independent export pathway. We reasoned that rev+CTE constructs might have advantages for such expression studies. A subtype A envelope sequence from a viral isolate from east Africa was cloned into a eukaryotic expression vector under the control of the CMV-IE promoter. The utility of inclusion of the Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (MPV)-CTE with/without rev for driving envelope expression and immunogenicity was examined. Expression of envelope (gp120) was confirmed by immunoblot analysis and by pseudotype virus infectivity assays. The presence of rev and the CTE together increased envelope expression and viral infection. Furthermore the CTE+rev construct was significantly more immunogenic then CTE alone vector. Isotype analysis and cytokine profiles showed strong Th1 response in plasmid-immunized mice, which also demonstrated the superior nature of the rev+CTE construct. These responses were of similar or greater magnitude to a codon-optimized construct. The resulting cellular immune responses were highly cross-reactive with a HIV-1 envelope subtype B antigen. This study suggests a simple strategy for improving the expression and immunogenicity of HIV subtype-specific envelope antigens as plasmid or vector

Doxycycline-regulated 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell line with inducible, stable expression of adenoviral E4orf1 gene: a cell model to study insulin-independent glucose disposal.

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Krishnapuram, Rashmi; Dhurandhar, Emily J; Dubuisson, Olga; Hegde, Vijay; Dhurandhar, Nikhil V

2013-01-01

Impaired glycemic control and excessive adiposity are major risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes mellitus. In rodent models, Ad36, a human adenovirus, improves glycemic control, independent of dietary fat intake or adiposity. It is impractical to use Ad36 for therapeutic action. Instead, we identified that E4orf1 protein of Ad36, mediates its anti-hyperglycemic action independent of insulin signaling. To further evaluate the therapeutic potential of E4orf1 to improve glycemic control, we established a stable 3T3-L1 cell system in which E4orf1 expression can be regulated. The development and characterization of this cell line is described here. Full-length adenoviral-36 E4orf1 cDNA obtained by PCR was cloned into a tetracycline responsive element containing vector (pTRE-Tight-E4orf1). Upon screening dozens of pTRE-Tight-E4orf1 clones, we identified the one with the highest expression of E4orf1 in response to doxycycline treatment. Furthermore, using this inducible system we characterized the ability of E4orf1 to improve glucose disposal in a time dependent manner. This stable cell line offers a valuable resource to carefully study the novel signaling pathways E4orf1 uses to enhance cellular glucose disposal independent of insulin.

Doxycycline-regulated 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell line with inducible, stable expression of adenoviral E4orf1 gene: a cell model to study insulin-independent glucose disposal.

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Rashmi Krishnapuram

Full Text Available Impaired glycemic control and excessive adiposity are major risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes mellitus. In rodent models, Ad36, a human adenovirus, improves glycemic control, independent of dietary fat intake or adiposity. It is impractical to use Ad36 for therapeutic action. Instead, we identified that E4orf1 protein of Ad36, mediates its anti-hyperglycemic action independent of insulin signaling. To further evaluate the therapeutic potential of E4orf1 to improve glycemic control, we established a stable 3T3-L1 cell system in which E4orf1 expression can be regulated. The development and characterization of this cell line is described here. Full-length adenoviral-36 E4orf1 cDNA obtained by PCR was cloned into a tetracycline responsive element containing vector (pTRE-Tight-E4orf1. Upon screening dozens of pTRE-Tight-E4orf1 clones, we identified the one with the highest expression of E4orf1 in response to doxycycline treatment. Furthermore, using this inducible system we characterized the ability of E4orf1 to improve glucose disposal in a time dependent manner. This stable cell line offers a valuable resource to carefully study the novel signaling pathways E4orf1 uses to enhance cellular glucose disposal independent of insulin.

Stable gene transfer of CCR5 and CXCR4 siRNAs by sleeping beauty transposon system to confer HIV-1 resistance

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Akkina Ramesh

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Thus far gene therapy strategies for HIV/AIDS have used either conventional retroviral vectors or lentiviral vectors for gene transfer. Although highly efficient, their use poses a certain degree of risk in terms of viral mediated oncogenesis. Sleeping Beauty (SB transposon system offers a non-viral method of gene transfer to avoid this possible risk. With respect to conferring HIV resistance, stable knock down of HIV-1 coreceptors CCR5 and CXCR4 by the use of lentiviral vector delivered siRNAs has proved to be a promising strategy to protect cells from HIV-1 infection. In the current studies our aim is to evaluate the utility of SB system for stable gene transfer of CCR5 and CXCR4 siRNA genes to derive HIV resistant cells as a first step towards using this system for gene therapy. Results Two well characterized siRNAs against the HIV-1 coreceptors CCR5 and CXCR4 were chosen based on their previous efficacy for the SB transposon gene delivery. The siRNA transgenes were incorporated individually into a modified SB transfer plasmid containing a FACS sortable red fluorescence protein (RFP reporter and a drug selectable neomycin resistance gene. Gene transfer was achieved by co-delivery with a construct expressing a hyperactive transposase (HSB5 into the GHOST-R3/X4/R5 cell line, which expresses the major HIV receptor CD4 and and the co-receptors CCR5 and CXCR4. SB constructs expressing CCR5 or CXCR4 siRNAs were also transfected into MAGI-CCR5 or MAGI-CXCR4 cell lines, respectively. Near complete downregulation of CCR5 and CXCR4 surface expression was observed in transfected cells. During viral challenge with X4-tropic (NL4.3 or R5-tropic (BaL HIV-1 strains, the respective transposed cells showed marked viral resistance. Conclusion SB transposon system can be used to deliver siRNA genes for stable gene transfer. The siRNA genes against HIV-1 coreceptors CCR5 and CXCR4 are able to downregulate the respective cell surface proteins

Hybrid Lentivirus-transposon Vectors With a Random Integration Profile in Human Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Staunstrup, Nicklas H; Moldt, Brian; Mátés, Lajos

2009-01-01

Gene delivery by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-based lentiviral vectors (LVs) is efficient, but genomic integration of the viral DNA is strongly biased toward transcriptionally active loci resulting in an increased risk of insertional mutagenesis in gene therapy protocols. Nonviral...... Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon vectors have a significantly safer insertion profile, but efficient delivery into relevant cell/tissue types is a limitation. In an attempt to combine the favorable features of the two vector systems we established a novel hybrid vector technology based on SB transposase......-mediated insertion of lentiviral DNA circles generated during transduction of target cells with integrase (IN)-defective LVs (IDLVs). By construction of a lentivirus-transposon hybrid vector allowing transposition exclusively from circular viral DNA substrates, we demonstrate that SB transposase added in trans...

A Rough Set-Based Model of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Resistome

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Marcin Kierczak

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Reverse transcriptase (RT is a viral enzyme crucial for HIV-1 replication. Currently, 12 drugs are targeted against the RT. The low fidelity of the RT-mediated transcription leads to the quick accumulation of drug-resistance mutations. The sequence-resistance relationship remains only partially understood. Using publicly available data collected from over 15 years of HIV proteome research, we have created a general and predictive rule-based model of HIV-1 resistance to eight RT inhibitors. Our rough set-based model considers changes in the physicochemical properties of a mutated sequence as compared to the wild-type strain. Thanks to the application of the Monte Carlo feature selection method, the model takes into account only the properties that significantly contribute to the resistance phenomenon. The obtained results show that drug-resistance is determined in more complex way than believed. We confirmed the importance of many resistance-associated sites, found some sites to be less relevant than formerly postulated and— more importantly—identified several previously neglected sites as potentially relevant. By mapping some of the newly discovered sites on the 3D structure of the RT, we were able to suggest possible molecular-mechanisms of drug-resistance. Importantly, our model has the ability to generalize predictions to the previously unseen cases. The study is an example of how computational biology methods can increase our understanding of the HIV-1 resistome.

Comparison of adenovirus fiber, protein IX, and hexon capsomeres as scaffolds for vector purification and cell targeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campos, Samuel K.; Barry, Michael A.

2006-01-01

The direct genetic modification of adenoviral capsid proteins with new ligands is an attractive means to confer targeted tropism to adenoviral vectors. Although several capsid proteins have been reported to tolerate the genetic fusion of foreign peptides and proteins, direct comparison of cell targeting efficiencies through the different capsomeres has been lacking. Likewise, direct comparison of with one or multiple ligands has not been performed due to a lack of capsid-compatible ligands available for retargeting. Here we utilize a panel of metabolically biotinylated Ad vectors to directly compare targeted transduction through the fiber, protein IX, and hexon capsomeres using a variety of biotinylated ligands including antibodies, transferrin, EGF, and cholera toxin B. These results clearly demonstrate that cell targeting with a variety of high affinity receptor-binding ligands is only effective when transduction is redirected through the fiber protein. In contrast, protein IX and hexon-mediated targeting by the same set of ligands failed to mediate robust vector targeting, perhaps due to aberrant trafficking at the cell surface or inside targeted cells. These data suggest that vector targeting by genetic incorporation of high affinity ligands will likely be most efficient through modification of the adenovirus fiber rather than the protein IX and hexon capsomeres. In contrast, single-step monomeric avidin affinity purification of Ad vectors using the metabolic biotinylation system is most effective through capsomeres like protein IX and hexon

Recombinant fibromodulin has therapeutic effects on diabetic nephropathy by down-regulating transforming growth factor-β1 in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model

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Maryam Foroutan Jazi

2016-03-01

Conclusion:Intraperitoneal injection of adenoviral vectors expressing fibromodulin  reduced TGF-β1 level in diabetic rat models. The molecular mechanisms involved in this process require further study.

The impact of nevirapine- versus protease inhibitor-based regimens on virological markers of HIV-1 persistence during seemingly suppressive ART.

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Kiselinova, Maja; Anna, Maria; Malatinkova, Eva; Vervish, Karen; Beloukas, Apostolos; Messiaen, Peter; Bonczkowski, Pawel; Trypsteen, Wim; Callens, Steven; Verhofstede, Chris; De Spiegelaere, Ward; Vandekerckhove, Linos

2014-01-01

The source and significance of residual plasma HIV-1 RNA detection during suppressive ART remain controversial. It has been proposed that nevirapine (NVP)-based regimens achieve a greater HIV-1 RNA suppression than regimens containing a protease inhibitor (PI). The aim of this study was to compare the effect of receiving NVP- vs PI-based ART on the virological markers of HIV persistence in peripheral blood. The study population comprised 161 HIV-1 infected patients receiving either NVP-based (n=81) or PI-based (n=80) ART and showing a HIV-1 RNA load stably suppressed ART, with median (IQR) levels of 5 (3-6) and 5 (3-8) copies/mL, respectively. HIV-1 RNA detection was associated with shorter duration of suppressive ART regardless of treatment arm (p=0.007), and lower CD4 nadir (p=0.015). HIV-1 DNA levels were median 282 (120-484) and 213 (87-494) copies/106 PBMCs in the two groups respectively, and were lowest (ART HIV-1 RNA load (p=0.0001). In this comprehensive characterization of patients on long-term suppressive ART, we did not observe evidence for a greater suppressive activity of NVP-based over PI-based therapy on plasma and intracellular markers of virus persistence. Overall excellent correlation was observed between the markers, allowing the identification of a subset of treated patients with low HIV-1 expression as an important cohort for future HIV cure studies.

Mucosal immunization with recombinant adenoviral vectors expressing murine gammaherpesvirus-68 genes M2 and M3 can reduce latent viral load

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Hoegh-Petersen, Mette; Thomsen, Allan R; Christensen, Jan P

2009-01-01

-68 (MHV-68) is a member of the Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily and represents a useful murine model for this category of infections, in which new vaccination strategies may initially be evaluated. Two attenuated variants of MHV-68 have successfully been used as vaccines, but the oncogenic potential...... of the gammaherpesvirinae speaks against using a similar approach in humans. DNA immunization with plasmids encoding the MHV-68 genes M2 or M3 caused a reduction in either acute or early latent viral load, respectively, but neither immunization had an effect at times later than 14 days post-infection. Adenovirus......-based vaccines are substantially more immunogenic than DNA vaccines and can be applied to induce mucosal immunity. Here we show that a significant reduction of the late viral load in the spleens, at 60 days post-infection, was achieved when immunizing mice both intranasally and subcutaneously with adenoviral...

HIV-1 transmission linkage in an HIV-1 prevention clinical trial

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Leitner, Thomas [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Campbell, Mary S [UNIV OF WASHINGTON; Mullins, James I [UNIV OF WASHINGTON; Hughes, James P [UNIV OF WASHINGTON; Wong, Kim G [UNIV OF WASHINGTON; Raugi, Dana N [UNIV OF WASHINGTON; Scrensen, Stefanie [UNIV OF WASHINGTON

2009-01-01

HIV-1 sequencing has been used extensively in epidemiologic and forensic studies to investigate patterns of HIV-1 transmission. However, the criteria for establishing genetic linkage between HIV-1 strains in HIV-1 prevention trials have not been formalized. The Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV Transmission Study (ClinicaITrials.gov NCT00194519) enrolled 3408 HIV-1 serodiscordant heterosexual African couples to determine the efficacy of genital herpes suppression with acyclovir in reducing HIV-1 transmission. The trial analysis required laboratory confirmation of HIV-1 linkage between enrolled partners in couples in which seroconversion occurred. Here we describe the process and results from HIV-1 sequencing studies used to perform transmission linkage determination in this clinical trial. Consensus Sanger sequencing of env (C2-V3-C3) and gag (p17-p24) genes was performed on plasma HIV-1 RNA from both partners within 3 months of seroconversion; env single molecule or pyrosequencing was also performed in some cases. For linkage, we required monophyletic clustering between HIV-1 sequences in the transmitting and seroconverting partners, and developed a Bayesian algorithm using genetic distances to evaluate the posterior probability of linkage of participants sequences. Adjudicators classified transmissions as linked, unlinked, or indeterminate. Among 151 seroconversion events, we found 108 (71.5%) linked, 40 (26.5%) unlinked, and 3 (2.0%) to have indeterminate transmissions. Nine (8.3%) were linked by consensus gag sequencing only and 8 (7.4%) required deep sequencing of env. In this first use of HIV-1 sequencing to establish endpoints in a large clinical trial, more than one-fourth of transmissions were unlinked to the enrolled partner, illustrating the relevance of these methods in the design of future HIV-1 prevention trials in serodiscordant couples. A hierarchy of sequencing techniques, analysis methods, and expert adjudication contributed to the linkage

Prime-boost vaccination with heterologous live vectors encoding SIV gag and multimeric HIV-1 gp160 protein: efficacy against repeated mucosal R5 clade C SHIV challenges.

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Lakhashe, Samir K; Velu, Vijayakumar; Sciaranghella, Gaia; Siddappa, Nagadenahalli B; Dipasquale, Janet M; Hemashettar, Girish; Yoon, John K; Rasmussen, Robert A; Yang, Feng; Lee, Sandra J; Montefiori, David C; Novembre, Francis J; Villinger, François; Amara, Rama Rao; Kahn, Maria; Hu, Shiu-Lok; Li, Sufen; Li, Zhongxia; Frankel, Fred R; Robert-Guroff, Marjorie; Johnson, Welkin E; Lieberman, Judy; Ruprecht, Ruth M

2011-08-05

We sought to induce primate immunodeficiency virus-specific cellular and neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses in rhesus macaques (RM) through a bimodal vaccine approach. RM were immunized intragastrically (i.g.) with the live-attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) vector Lmdd-BdopSIVgag encoding SIVmac239 gag. SIV Gag-specific cellular responses were boosted by intranasal and intratracheal administration of replication-competent adenovirus (Ad5hr-SIVgag) encoding the same gag. To broaden antiviral immunity, the RM were immunized with multimeric HIV clade C (HIV-C) gp160 and HIV Tat. SIV Gag-specific cellular immune responses and HIV-1 nAb developed in some RM. The animals were challenged intrarectally with five low doses of R5 SHIV-1157ipEL-p, encoding a heterologous HIV-C Env (22.1% divergent to the Env immunogen). All five controls became viremic. One out of ten vaccinees was completely protected and another had low peak viremia. Sera from the completely and partially protected RM neutralized the challenge virus > 90%; these RM also had strong SIV Gag-specific proliferation of CD8⁺ T cells. Peak and area under the curve of plasma viremia (during acute phase) among vaccinees was lower than for controls, but did not attain significance. The completely protected RM showed persistently low numbers of the α4β7-expressing CD4⁺ T cells; the latter have been implicated as preferential virus targets in vivo. Thus, vaccine-induced immune responses and relatively lower numbers of potential target cells were associated with protection. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structure-Based Design of Novel HIV-1 Protease Inhibitors to Combat Drug Resistance

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Ghosh,A.; Sridhar, P.; Leshchenko, S.; Hussain, A.; Li, J.; Kovalevsky, A.; Walters, D.; Wedelind, J.; Grum-Tokars, V.; et al.

2006-01-01

Structure-based design and synthesis of novel HIV protease inhibitors are described. The inhibitors are designed specifically to interact with the backbone of HIV protease active site to combat drug resistance. Inhibitor 3 has exhibited exceedingly potent enzyme inhibitory and antiviral potency. Furthermore, this inhibitor maintains impressive potency against a wide spectrum of HIV including a variety of multi-PI-resistant clinical strains. The inhibitors incorporated a stereochemically defined 5-hexahydrocyclopenta[b]furanyl urethane as the P2-ligand into the (R)-(hydroxyethylamino)sulfonamide isostere. Optically active (3aS,5R,6aR)-5-hydroxy-hexahydrocyclopenta[b]furan was prepared by an enzymatic asymmetrization of meso-diacetate with acetyl cholinesterase, radical cyclization, and Lewis acid-catalyzed anomeric reduction as the key steps. A protein-ligand X-ray crystal structure of inhibitor 3-bound HIV-1 protease (1.35 Angstroms resolution) revealed extensive interactions in the HIV protease active site including strong hydrogen bonding interactions with the backbone. This design strategy may lead to novel inhibitors that can combat drug resistance.

Bioengineering a non-genotoxic vector for genetic modification of mesenchymal stem cells.

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Chen, Xuguang; Nomani, Alireza; Patel, Niket; Nouri, Faranak S; Hatefi, Arash

2018-01-01

Vectors used for stem cell transfection must be non-genotoxic, in addition to possessing high efficiency, because they could potentially transform normal stem cells into cancer-initiating cells. The objective of this research was to bioengineer an efficient vector that can be used for genetic modification of stem cells without any negative somatic or genetic impact. Two types of multifunctional vectors, namely targeted and non-targeted were genetically engineered and purified from E. coli. The targeted vectors were designed to enter stem cells via overexpressed receptors. The non-targeted vectors were equipped with MPG and Pep1 cell penetrating peptides. A series of commercial synthetic non-viral vectors and an adenoviral vector were used as controls. All vectors were evaluated for their efficiency and impact on metabolic activity, cell membrane integrity, chromosomal aberrations (micronuclei formation), gene dysregulation, and differentiation ability of stem cells. The results of this study showed that the bioengineered vector utilizing VEGFR-1 receptors for cellular entry could transfect mesenchymal stem cells with high efficiency without inducing genotoxicity, negative impact on gene function, or ability to differentiate. Overall, the vectors that utilized receptors as ports for cellular entry (viral and non-viral) showed considerably better somato- and genosafety profiles in comparison to those that entered through electrostatic interaction with cellular membrane. The genetically engineered vector in this study demonstrated that it can be safely and efficiently used to genetically modify stem cells with potential applications in tissue engineering and cancer therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prediction of HIV-1 sensitivity to broadly neutralizing antibodies shows a trend towards resistance over time.

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Hake, Anna; Pfeifer, Nico

2017-10-01

Treatment with broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) has proven effective against HIV-1 infections in humanized mice, non-human primates, and humans. Due to the high mutation rate of HIV-1, resistance testing of the patient's viral strains to the bNAbs is still inevitable. So far, bNAb resistance can only be tested in expensive and time-consuming neutralization experiments. Here, we introduce well-performing computational models that predict the neutralization response of HIV-1 to bNAbs given only the envelope sequence of the virus. Using non-linear support vector machines based on a string kernel, the models learnt even the important binding sites of bNAbs with more complex epitopes, i.e., the CD4 binding site targeting bNAbs, proving thereby the biological relevance of the models. To increase the interpretability of the models, we additionally provide a new kind of motif logo for each query sequence, visualizing those residues of the test sequence that influenced the prediction outcome the most. Moreover, we predicted the neutralization sensitivity of around 34,000 HIV-1 samples from different time points to a broad range of bNAbs, enabling the first analysis of HIV resistance to bNAbs on a global scale. The analysis showed for many of the bNAbs a trend towards antibody resistance over time, which had previously only been discovered for a small non-representative subset of the global HIV-1 population.

Detection of HIV-1 p24 Gag in plasma by a nanoparticle-based bio-barcode-amplification method.

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Kim, Eun-Young; Stanton, Jennifer; Korber, Bette T M; Krebs, Kendall; Bogdan, Derek; Kunstman, Kevin; Wu, Samuel; Phair, John P; Mirkin, Chad A; Wolinsky, Steven M

2008-06-01

Detection of HIV-1 in patients is limited by the sensitivity and selectivity of available tests. The nanotechnology-based bio-barcode-amplification method offers an innovative approach to detect specific HIV-1 antigens from diverse HIV-1 subtypes. We evaluated the efficacy of this protein-detection method in detecting HIV-1 in men enrolled in the Chicago component of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). The method relies on magnetic microparticles with antibodies that specifically bind the HIV-1 p24 Gag protein and nanoparticles that are encoded with DNA and antibodies that can sandwich the target protein captured by the microparticle-bound antibodies. The aggregate sandwich structures are magnetically separated from solution, and treated to remove the conjugated barcode DNA. The DNA barcodes (hundreds per target) were identified by a nanoparticle-based detection method that does not rely on PCR. Of 112 plasma samples from HIV-1-infected subjects, 111 were positive for HIV-1 p24 Gag protein (range: 0.11-71.5 ng/ml of plasma) by the bio-barcode-amplification method. HIV-1 p24 Gag protein was detected in only 23 out of 112 men by the conventional ELISA. A total of 34 uninfected subjects were negative by both tests. Thus, the specificity of the bio-barcode-amplification method was 100% and the sensitivity 99%. The bio-barcode-amplification method detected HIV-1 p24 Gag protein in plasma from all study subjects with less than 200 CD4(+) T cells/microl of plasma (100%) and 19 out of 20 (95%) HIV-1-infected men who had less than 50 copies/ml of plasma of HIV-1 RNA. In a separate group of 60 diverse international isolates, representative of clades A, B, C and D and circulating recombinant forms CRF01_AE and CRF02_AG, the bio-barcode-amplification method identified the presence of virus correctly. The bio-barcode-amplification method was superior to the conventional ELISA assay for the detection of HIV-1 p24 Gag protein in plasma with a breadth of coverage for diverse

Two types of nanoparticle-based bio-barcode amplification assays to detect HIV-1 p24 antigen

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Dong Huahuang

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background HIV-1 p24 antigen is a major viral component of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1 which can be used to identify persons in the early stage of infection and transmission of HIV-1 from infected mothers to infants. The detection of p24 is usually accomplished by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA with low detection sensitivity. Here we report the use of two bio-barcode amplification (BCA assays combined with polymerase chain reaction (PCR and gel electrophoresis to quantify HIV-1 p24 antigen. Method A pair of anti-p24 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs were used in BCA assays to capture HIV-1 p24 antigen in a sandwich format and allowed for the quantitative measurement of captured p24 using PCR and gel electrophoresis. The first 1 G12 mAb was coated on microplate wells or magnetic microparticles (MMPs to capture free p24 antigens. Captured p24 in turn captured 1D4 mAb coated gold nanoparticle probes (GNPs containing double-stranded DNA oligonucleotides. One strand of the oligonucleotides was covalently immobilized whereas the unbound complimentary bio-barcode DNA strand could be released upon heating. The released bio-barcode DNA was amplified by PCR, electrophoresed in agarose gel and quantified. Results The in-house ELISA assay was found to quantify p24 antigen with a limit of detection (LOD of 1,000 pg/ml and a linear range between 3,000 and 100,000 pg/ml. In contrast, the BCA-based microplate method yielded an LOD of 1 pg/ml and a linear detection range from 1 to 10,000 pg/ml. The BCA-based MMP method yielded an LOD of 0.1 pg/ml and a linear detection range from 0.1 to 1,000 pg/ml. Conclusions When combined with PCR and simple gel electrophoresis, BCA-based microplate and MMPs assays can be used to quantify HIV-1 p24 antigen. These methods are 3–4 orders of magnitude more sensitive than our in-house ELISA-based assay and may provide a useful approach to detect p24 in patients newly infected

Proviral HIV-genome-wide and pol-gene specific Zinc Finger Nucleases: Usability for targeted HIV gene therapy

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Wayengera Misaki

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Infection with HIV, which culminates in the establishment of a latent proviral reservoir, presents formidable challenges for ultimate cure. Building on the hypothesis that ex-vivo or even in-vivo abolition or disruption of HIV-gene/genome-action by target mutagenesis or excision can irreversibly abrogate HIV's innate fitness to replicate and survive, we previously identified the isoschizomeric bacteria restriction enzymes (REases AcsI and ApoI as potent cleavers of the HIV-pol gene (11 and 9 times in HIV-1 and 2, respectively. However, both enzymes, along with others found to cleave across the entire HIV-1 genome, slice (SX at palindromic sequences that are prevalent within the human genome and thereby pose the risk of host genome toxicity. A long-term goal in the field of R-M enzymatic therapeutics has thus been to generate synthetic restriction endonucleases with longer recognition sites limited in specificity to HIV. We aimed (i to assemble and construct zinc finger arrays and nucleases (ZFN with either proviral-HIV-pol gene or proviral-HIV-1 whole-genome specificity respectively, and (ii to advance a model for pre-clinically testing lentiviral vectors (LV that deliver and transduce either ZFN genotype. Methods and Results First, we computationally generated the consensus sequences of (a 114 dsDNA-binding zinc finger (Zif arrays (ZFAs or ZifHIV-pol and (b two zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs which, unlike the AcsI and ApoI homeodomains, possess specificity to >18 base-pair sequences uniquely present within the HIV-pol gene (ZifHIV-polFN. Another 15 ZFNs targeting >18 bp sequences within the complete HIV-1 proviral genome were constructed (ZifHIV-1FN. Second, a model for constructing lentiviral vectors (LVs that deliver and transduce a diploid copy of either ZifHIV-polFN or ZifHIV-1FN chimeric genes (termed LV- 2xZifHIV-polFN and LV- 2xZifHIV-1FN, respectively is proposed. Third, two preclinical models for controlled testing of

Proviral HIV-genome-wide and pol-gene specific zinc finger nucleases: usability for targeted HIV gene therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wayengera, Misaki

2011-07-22

Infection with HIV, which culminates in the establishment of a latent proviral reservoir, presents formidable challenges for ultimate cure. Building on the hypothesis that ex-vivo or even in-vivo abolition or disruption of HIV-gene/genome-action by target mutagenesis or excision can irreversibly abrogate HIV's innate fitness to replicate and survive, we previously identified the isoschizomeric bacteria restriction enzymes (REases) AcsI and ApoI as potent cleavers of the HIV-pol gene (11 and 9 times in HIV-1 and 2, respectively). However, both enzymes, along with others found to cleave across the entire HIV-1 genome, slice (SX) at palindromic sequences that are prevalent within the human genome and thereby pose the risk of host genome toxicity. A long-term goal in the field of R-M enzymatic therapeutics has thus been to generate synthetic restriction endonucleases with longer recognition sites limited in specificity to HIV. We aimed (i) to assemble and construct zinc finger arrays and nucleases (ZFN) with either proviral-HIV-pol gene or proviral-HIV-1 whole-genome specificity respectively, and (ii) to advance a model for pre-clinically testing lentiviral vectors (LV) that deliver and transduce either ZFN genotype. First, we computationally generated the consensus sequences of (a) 114 dsDNA-binding zinc finger (Zif) arrays (ZFAs or ZifHIV-pol) and (b) two zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) which, unlike the AcsI and ApoI homeodomains, possess specificity to >18 base-pair sequences uniquely present within the HIV-pol gene (ZifHIV-polFN). Another 15 ZFNs targeting >18 bp sequences within the complete HIV-1 proviral genome were constructed (ZifHIV-1FN). Second, a model for constructing lentiviral vectors (LVs) that deliver and transduce a diploid copy of either ZifHIV-polFN or ZifHIV-1FN chimeric genes (termed LV- 2xZifHIV-polFN and LV- 2xZifHIV-1FN, respectively) is proposed. Third, two preclinical models for controlled testing of the safety and efficacy of either of these

Frequency and site mapping of HIV-1/SIVcpz, HIV- 2/SIVsmm and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Administrator

2007-05-16

May 16, 2007 ... Other issues of safety are dependant upon choice of enzyme gene deli- very, and although various ex vivo and in vivo gene transfer techniques exist, we believe that a recom-binant. HIV viral vector whose pathogenesis gene, NEF has been removed to render it impotent, could offer a more targeted delivery ...

Identifying HIV-1 dual infections

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Cornelissen Marion

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV is no exception to the phenomenon that a second, productive infection with another strain of the same virus is feasible. Experiments with RNA viruses have suggested that both coinfections (simultaneous infection with two strains of a virus and superinfections (second infection after a specific immune response to the first infecting strain has developed can result in increased fitness of the viral population. Concerns about dual infections with HIV are increasing. First, the frequent detection of superinfections seems to indicate that it will be difficult to develop a prophylactic vaccine. Second, HIV-1 superinfections have been associated with accelerated disease progression, although this is not true for all persons. In fact, superinfections have even been detected in persons controlling their HIV infections without antiretroviral therapy. Third, dual infections can give rise to recombinant viruses, which are increasingly found in the HIV-1 epidemic. Recombinants could have increased fitness over the parental strains, as in vitro models suggest, and could exhibit increased pathogenicity. Multiple drug resistant (MDR strains could recombine to produce a pan-resistant, transmittable virus. We will describe in this review what is presently known about super- and re-infection among ambient viral infections, as well as the first cases of HIV-1 superinfection, including HIV-1 triple infections. The clinical implications, the impact of the immune system, and the effect of anti-retroviral therapy will be covered, as will as the timing of HIV superinfection. The methods used to detect HIV-1 dual infections will be discussed in detail. To increase the likelihood of detecting a dual HIV-1 infection, pre-selection of patients can be done by serotyping, heteroduplex mobility assays (HMA, counting the degenerate base codes in the HIV-1 genotyping sequence, or surveying unexpected increases in the

Clinical presentation and opportunistic infections in HIV-1, HIV-2 and HIV-1/2 dual seropositive patients in Guinea-Bissau

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Allan; Jespersen, Sanne; Katzenstein, Terese L

2016-01-01

HIV-2 is prevalent. In this study, we aimed to characterize the clinical presentations among HIV-1, HIV-2 and HIV-1/2 dual seropositive patients. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, newly diagnosed HIV patients attending the HIV outpatient clinic at Hospital Nacional Sim~ao Mendes in Guinea......-Bissau were enrolled. Demographical and clinical data were collected and compared between HIV-1, HIV-2 and HIV-1/2 dual seropositive patients. Results: A total of 169 patients (76% HIV-1, 17% HIV-2 and 6% HIV 1/2) were included in the study between 21 March 2012 and 14 December 2012. HIV-1 seropositive...... antigen. Conclusion: HIV-1 and HIV-1/2 seropositive patients have lower CD4 cell counts than HIV-2 seropositive patients when diagnosed with HIV with only minor clinical and demographic differences among groups. Few patients were diagnosed with TB and cryptococcal disease was not found to be a major...

Development of a replication-competent lentivirus assay for dendritic cell-targeting lentiviral vectors

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Daniel C Farley

Full Text Available It is a current regulatory requirement to demonstrate absence of detectable replication-competent lentivirus (RCL in lentiviral vector products prior to use in clinical trials. Immune Design previously described an HIV-1-based integration-deficient lentiviral vector for use in cancer immunotherapy (VP02. VP02 is enveloped with E1001, a modified Sindbis virus glycoprotein which targets dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN expressed on dendritic cells in vivo. Vector enveloped with E1001 does not transduce T-cell lines used in standard HIV-1-based RCL assays, making current RCL testing formats unsuitable for testing VP02. We therefore developed a novel assay to test for RCL in clinical lots of VP02. This assay, which utilizes a murine leukemia positive control virus and a 293F cell line expressing the E1001 receptor DC-SIGN, meets a series of evaluation criteria defined in collaboration with US regulatory authorities and demonstrates the ability of the assay format to amplify and detect a hypothetical RCL derived from VP02 vector components. This assay was qualified and used to test six independent GMP production lots of VP02, in which no RCL was detected. We propose that the evaluation criteria used to rationally design this novel method should be considered when developing an RCL assay for any lentiviral vector.

Construction and immunogenicity of replication-competent adenovirus 5 host range mutant recombinants expressing HIV-1 gp160 of SF162 and TV1 strains.

Science.gov (United States)

Hidajat, Rachmat; Kuate, Seraphin; Venzon, David; Kalyanaraman, Vaniambadi; Kalisz, Irene; Treece, James; Lian, Ying; Barnett, Susan W; Robert-Guroff, Marjorie

2010-05-21

An HIV Env immunogen capable of eliciting broad immunity is critical for a successful vaccine. We constructed and characterized adenovirus 5 host range mutant (Ad5hr) recombinants encoding HIV(SF162) gp160 (subtype B) and HIV(TV1) gp160 (subtype C). Immunization of mice with one or both induced cellular immunity to subtype B and C peptides by ELISpot, and antibody responses with high binding titers to HIV Env of subtypes A, B, C, and E. Notably, Ad5hr-HIV(TV1) gp160 induced better cellular immunity than Ad5hr-HIV(SF162) gp160, either alone or following co-administration. Thus, the TV1 Env recombinant alone may be sufficient for eliciting immune responses against both subtype B and C envelopes. Further studies of Ad5hr-HIV(TV1) gp160 in rhesus macaques will evaluate the suitability of this insert for a future phase I clinical trial using a replication-competent Ad4 vector. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Overexpression of octamer transcription factors 1 or 2 alone has no effect on HIV-1 transcription in primary human CD4 T cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Mingce; Genin, Anna; Cron, Randy Q.

2004-01-01

We explored the binding of octamer (Oct) transcription factors to the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) by gel shift assays and showed none of the previously identified four potential Oct binding sites bound Oct-1 or Oct-2. Overexpression of Oct-1 or Oct-2 had no effect on HIV-1 LTR activity in transiently transfected primary human CD4 T cells. Next, primary human CD4 T cells were co-transfected with a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expression vector and an Oct-1 or Oct-2 expression plasmid. The transfected cells were stimulated for 2 days and then infected with the NL4-3 strain of HIV-1. After 3 days of infection, there were no differences in HIV-1 p24 supernatant levels. Apoptosis of infected or bystander cells overexpressing Oct-1 or Oct-2 compared to control was also unaffected. Our studies demonstrate that Oct-1 and Oct-2 fail to bind to the HIV-1 LTR and have no effect on HIV-1 transcription in primary human CD4 T cells

Regulation of epithelial differentiation in rat intestine by intraluminal delivery of an adenoviral vector or silencing RNA coding for Schlafen 3.

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Pavlo L Kovalenko

Full Text Available Although we stimulate enterocytic proliferation to ameliorate short gut syndrome or mucosal atrophy, less effort has been directed at enterocytic differentiation. Schlafen 3 (Slfn3 is a poorly understood protein induced during IEC-6 enterocytic differentiation. We hypothesized that exogenous manipulation of Slfn3 would regulate enterocytic differentiation in vivo. Adenoviral vector coding for Slfn3 cDNA (Ad-GFP-Slfn3 or silencing RNA for Slfn3 (siSlfn3 was introduced intraluminally into rat intestine. We assessed Slfn3, villin, sucrase-isomaltase (SI, Dpp4, and Glut2 by qRT-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. We also studied Slfn3 and these differentiation markers in atrophic defunctionalized jejunal mucosa and the crypt-villus axis of normal jejunum. Ad-GFP-Slfn3 but not Ad-GFP increased Slfn3, villin and Dpp4 expression in human Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells. Injecting Ad-GFP-Slfn3 into rat jejunum in vivo increased mucosal Slfn3 mRNA three days later vs. intraluminal Ad-GFP. This Slfn3 overexpression was associated with increases in all four differentiation markers. Injecting siSlfn3 into rat jejunum in vivo substantially reduced Slfn3 and all four intestinal mucosal differentiation markers three days later, as well as Dpp4 specific activity. Endogenous Slfn3 was reduced in atrophic mucosa from a blind-end Roux-en-Y anastomosis in parallel with differentiation marker expression together with AKT and p38 signaling. Slfn3 was more highly expressed in the villi than the crypts, paralleling Glut2, SI and Dpp4. Slfn3 is a key intracellular regulator of rat enterocytic differentiation. Understanding how Slfn3 works may identify targets to promote enterocytic differentiation and maintain mucosal function in vivo, facilitating enteral nutrition and improving survival in patients with mucosal atrophy or short gut syndrome.

Adenoviral DNA replication: DNA sequences and enzymes required for initiation in vitro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stillman, B.W.; Tamanoi, F.

1983-01-01

In this paper evidence is provided that the 140,000-dalton DNA polymerase is encoded by the adenoviral genome and is required for the initiation of DNA replication in vitro. The DNA sequences in the template DNA that are required for the initiation of replication have also been identified, using both plasmid DNAs and synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides. 48 references, 7 figures, 1 table

Attenuation of Replication-Competent Adenovirus Serotype 26 Vaccines by Vectorization.

Science.gov (United States)

Maxfield, Lori F; Abbink, Peter; Stephenson, Kathryn E; Borducchi, Erica N; Ng'ang'a, David; Kirilova, Marinela M; Paulino, Noelix; Boyd, Michael; Shabram, Paul; Ruan, Qian; Patel, Mayank; Barouch, Dan H

2015-11-01

Replication-competent adenovirus (rcAd)-based vaccine vectors may theoretically provide immunological advantages over replication-incompetent Ad vectors, but they also raise additional potential clinical and regulatory issues. We produced replication-competent Ad serotype 26 (rcAd26) vectors by adding the E1 region back into a replication-incompetent Ad26 vector backbone with the E3 or E3/E4 regions deleted. We assessed the effect of vectorization on the replicative capacity of the rcAd26 vaccines. Attenuation occurred in a stepwise fashion, with E3 deletion, E4 deletion, and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope (Env) gene insertion all contributing to reduced replicative capacity compared to that with the wild-type Ad26 vector. The rcAd26 vector with E3 and E4 deleted and containing the Env transgene exhibited 2.7- to 4.4-log-lower replicative capacity than that of the wild-type Ad26 in vitro. This rcAd26 vector is currently being evaluated in a phase 1 clinical trial. Attenuation as a result of vectorization and transgene insertion has implications for the clinical development of replication-competent vaccine vectors. Copyright © 2015, Maxfield et al.

Anti-cancer effect of HIV-1 viral protein R on doxorubicin resistant neuroblastoma.

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Richard Y Zhao

Full Text Available Several unique biological features of HIV-1 Vpr make it a potentially powerful agent for anti-cancer therapy. First, Vpr inhibits cell proliferation by induction of cell cycle G2 arrest. Second, it induces apoptosis through multiple mechanisms, which could be significant as it may be able to overcome apoptotic resistance exhibited by many cancerous cells, and, finally, Vpr selectively kills fast growing cells in a p53-independent manner. To demonstrate the potential utility of Vpr as an anti-cancer agent, we carried out proof-of-concept studies in vitro and in vivo. Results of our preliminary studies demonstrated that Vpr induces cell cycle G2 arrest and apoptosis in a variety of cancer types. Moreover, the same Vpr effects could also be detected in some cancer cells that are resistant to anti-cancer drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX. To further illustrate the potential value of Vpr in tumor growth inhibition, we adopted a DOX-resistant neuroblastoma model by injecting SK-N-SH cells into C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J-scid/scid mice. We hypothesized that Vpr is able to block cell proliferation and induce apoptosis regardless of the drug resistance status of the tumors. Indeed, production of Vpr via adenoviral delivery to neuroblastoma cells caused G2 arrest and apoptosis in both drug naïve and DOX-resistant cells. In addition, pre-infection or intratumoral injection of vpr-expressing adenoviral particles into neuroblastoma tumors in SCID mice markedly inhibited tumor growth. Therefore, Vpr could possibly be used as a supplemental viral therapeutic agent for selective inhibition of tumor growth in anti-cancer therapy especially when other therapies stop working.

CW-THz vector spectroscopy and imaging system based on 1.55-µm fiber-optics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jae-Young; Song, Ho-Jin; Yaita, Makoto; Hirata, Akihiko; Ajito, Katsuhiro

2014-01-27

We present a continuous-wave terahertz (THz) vector spectroscopy and imaging system based on a 1.5-µm fiber optic uni-traveling-carrier photodiode and InGaAs photo-conductive receiver. Using electro-optic (EO) phase modulators for THz phase control with shortened optical paths, the system achieves fast vector measurement with effective phase stabilization. Dynamic ranges of 100 dB · Hz and 75 dB · Hz at 300 GHz and 1 THz, and phase stability of 1.5° per minute are obtained. With the simultaneous measurement of absorbance and relative permittivity, we demonstrate non-destructive analyses of pharmaceutical cocrystals inside tablets within a few minutes.

Immunization with Hexon modified adenoviral vectors integrated with gp83 epitope provides protection against Trypanosoma cruzi infection.

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Anitra L Farrow

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease. Chagas disease is an endemic infection that affects over 8 million people throughout Latin America and now has become a global challenge. The current pharmacological treatment of patients is unsuccessful in most cases, highly toxic, and no vaccines are available. The results of inadequate treatment could lead to heart failure resulting in death. Therefore, a vaccine that elicits neutralizing antibodies mediated by cell-mediated immune responses and protection against Chagas disease is necessary.The "antigen capsid-incorporation" strategy is based upon the display of the T. cruzi epitope as an integral component of the adenovirus' capsid rather than an encoded transgene. This strategy is predicted to induce a robust humoral immune response to the presented antigen, similar to the response provoked by native Ad capsid proteins. The antigen chosen was T. cruzi gp83, a ligand that is used by T. cruzi to attach to host cells to initiate infection. The gp83 epitope, recognized by the neutralizing MAb 4A4, along with His6 were incorporated into the Ad serotype 5 (Ad5 vector to generate the vector Ad5-HVR1-gp83-18 (Ad5-gp83. This vector was evaluated by molecular and immunological analyses. Vectors were injected to elicit immune responses against gp83 in mouse models. Our findings indicate that mice immunized with the vector Ad5-gp83 and challenged with a lethal dose of T. cruzi trypomastigotes confer strong immunoprotection with significant reduction in parasitemia levels, increased survival rate and induction of neutralizing antibodies.This data demonstrates that immunization with adenovirus containing capsid-incorporated T. cruzi antigen elicits a significant anti-gp83-specific response in two different mouse models, and protection against T. cruzi infection by eliciting neutralizing antibodies mediated by cell-mediated immune responses, as evidenced by the production of several Ig isotypes

Tandem bispecific broadly neutralizing antibody - a novel approach to HIV-1 treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, Guido

2018-04-23

The last decade has led to a significant advance in our knowledge of HIV-1 latency and immunity. However, we are still not close to finding a cure for HIV-1. Although combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has led to increased survival, almost close to that of the general population, it is still not curative. In the current issue of the JCI, Wu et al. studied the prophylactic and therapeutic potential of an engineered tandem bispecific broadly neutralizing antibody (bs-bnAb), BiIA-SG. This bnAb's breadth and potency were highly effective in protection and treatment settings, as measured by complete viremia control following direct infusion, as well as elimination of infected cells and delay in viral rebound when delivered with a recombinant vector. These observations underscore the need for the clinical development of BiIA-SG for the prevention of HIV-1.

Immune defence against HIV-1 infection in HIV-1-exposed seronegative persons.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmechel, S C; Russell, N; Hladik, F; Lang, J; Wilson, A; Ha, R; Desbien, A; McElrath, M J

2001-11-01

Rare individuals who are repeatedly exposed to HIV-1 through unprotected sexual contact fail to acquire HIV-1 infection. These persons represent a unique study population to evaluate mechanisms by which HIV-1 replication is either prevented or controlled. We followed longitudinally a group of healthy HIV-1 seronegative persons each reporting repeated high-risk sexual activities with their HIV-1-infected partner at enrollment. The volunteers were primarily (90%) male homosexuals, maintaining high risk activities with their known infected partner (45%) or multiple other partners (61%). We evaluated the quantity and specificity of HIV-1-specific T cells in 31 exposed seronegatives (ES) using a IFN-gamma ELISPOT assay to enumerate T cells recognizing epitopes within HIV-1 Env, Gag, Pol and Nef. PBMC from only three of the 31 volunteers demonstrated ex vivo HIV-1-specific IFN-gamma secretion, in contrast to nearly 30% exhibiting cytolytic responses in previous studies. These findings suggest that if T cell responses in ES are induced by HIV-1 exposure, the frequency is at low levels in most of them, and below the level of detection using the ELISPOT assay. Alternative approaches to improve the sensitivity of detection may include use of dendritic cells as antigen-presenting cells in the ex vivo assay and more careful definition of the risk behavior and extent of HIV-1 exposure in conjunction with the evaluation of T cell responses.

Sensitive cell-based assay for determination of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 coreceptor tropism.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Jan; Vazquez, Ana C; Winner, Dane; Gibson, Richard M; Rhea, Ariel M; Rose, Justine D; Wylie, Doug; Henry, Kenneth; Wright, Alison; King, Kevin; Archer, John; Poveda, Eva; Soriano, Vicente; Robertson, David L; Olivo, Paul D; Arts, Eric J; Quiñones-Mateu, Miguel E

2013-05-01

CCR5 antagonists are a powerful new class of antiretroviral drugs that require a companion assay to evaluate the presence of CXCR4-tropic (non-R5) viruses prior to use in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. In this study, we have developed, characterized, verified, and prevalidated a novel phenotypic test to determine HIV-1 coreceptor tropism (VERITROP) based on a sensitive cell-to-cell fusion assay. A proprietary vector was constructed containing a near-full-length HIV-1 genome with the yeast uracil biosynthesis (URA3) gene replacing the HIV-1 env coding sequence. Patient-derived HIV-1 PCR products were introduced by homologous recombination using an innovative yeast-based cloning strategy. The env-expressing vectors were then used in a cell-to-cell fusion assay to determine the presence of R5 and/or non-R5 HIV-1 variants within the viral population. Results were compared with (i) the original version of Trofile (Monogram Biosciences, San Francisco, CA), (ii) population sequencing, and (iii) 454 pyrosequencing, with the genotypic data analyzed using several bioinformatics tools, i.e., the 11/24/25 rule, Geno2Pheno (2% to 5.75%, 3.5%, or 10% false-positive rate [FPR]), and webPSSM. VERITROP consistently detected minority non-R5 variants from clinical specimens, with an analytical sensitivity of 0.3%, with viral loads of ≥1,000 copies/ml, and from B and non-B subtypes. In a pilot study, a 73.7% (56/76) concordance was observed with the original Trofile assay, with 19 of the 20 discordant results corresponding to non-R5 variants detected using VERITROP and not by the original Trofile assay. The degree of concordance of VERITROP and Trofile with population and deep sequencing results depended on the algorithm used to determine HIV-1 coreceptor tropism. Overall, VERITROP showed better concordance with deep sequencing/Geno2Pheno at a 0.3% detection threshold (67%), whereas Trofile matched better with population sequencing (79%). However, 454

Potent and reversible lentiviral vector restriction in murine induced pluripotent stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Geis, Franziska K; Galla, Melanie; Hoffmann, Dirk; Kuehle, Johannes; Zychlinski, Daniela; Maetzig, Tobias; Schott, Juliane W; Schwarzer, Adrian; Goffinet, Christine; Goff, Stephen P; Schambach, Axel

2017-05-31

Retroviral vectors are derived from wild-type retroviruses, can be used to study retrovirus-host interactions and are effective tools in gene and cell therapy. However, numerous cell types are resistant or less permissive to retrovirus infection due to the presence of active defense mechanisms, or the absence of important cellular host co-factors. In contrast to multipotent stem cells, pluripotent stem cells (PSC) have potential to differentiate into all three germ layers. Much remains to be elucidated in the field of anti-viral immunity in stem cells, especially in PSC. In this study, we report that transduction with HIV-1-based, lentiviral vectors (LV) is impaired in murine PSC. Analyses of early retroviral events in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) revealed that the restriction is independent of envelope choice and does not affect reverse transcription, but perturbs nuclear entry and proviral integration. Proteasomal inhibition by MG132 could not circumvent the restriction. However, prevention of cyclophilin A (CypA) binding to the HIV-1 capsid via use of either a CypA inhibitor (cyclosporine A) or CypA-independent capsid mutants improved transduction. In addition, application of higher vector doses also increased transduction. Our data revealed a CypA mediated restriction in iPSC, which was acquired during reprogramming, associated with pluripotency and relieved upon subsequent differentiation. We showed that murine PSC and iPSC are less susceptible to LV. The block observed in iPSC was CypA-dependent and resulted in reduced nuclear entry of viral DNA and proviral integration. Our study helps to improve transduction of murine pluripotent cells with HIV-1-based vectors and contributes to our understanding of retrovirus-host interactions in PSC.

No evidence of association between HIV-1 and malaria in populations with low HIV-1 prevalence.

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Diego F Cuadros

Full Text Available The geographic overlap between HIV-1 and malaria has generated much interest in their potential interactions. A variety of studies have evidenced a complex HIV-malaria interaction within individuals and populations that may have dramatic effects, but the causes and implications of this co-infection at the population level are still unclear. In a previous publication, we showed that the prevalence of malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum is associated with HIV infection in eastern sub-Saharan Africa. To complement our knowledge of the HIV-malaria co-infection, the objective of this work was to assess the relationship between malaria and HIV prevalence in the western region of sub-Saharan Africa.Population-based cross-sectional data were obtained from the HIV/AIDS Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Liberia and Cameroon, and the malaria atlas project. Using generalized linear mixed models, we assessed the relationship between HIV-1 and Plasmodium falciparum parasite rate (PfPR adjusting for important socio-economic and biological cofactors. We found no evidence that individuals living in areas with stable malaria transmission (PfPR>0.46 have higher odds of being HIV-positive than individuals who live in areas with PfPR≤0.46 in western sub-Saharan Africa (estimated odds ratio 1.14, 95% confidence interval 0.86-1.50. In contrast, the results suggested that PfPR was associated with being infected with HIV in Cameroon (estimated odds ratio 1.56, 95% confidence interval 1.23-2.00.Contrary to our previous research on eastern sub-Saharan Africa, this study did not identify an association between PfPR and infection with HIV in western sub-Saharan Africa, which suggests that malaria might not play an important role in the spread of HIV in populations where the HIV prevalence is low. Our work highlights the importance of understanding the epidemiologic effect of co-infection and the relevant

Optimization and physicochemical characterization of a cationic lipid-phosphatidylcholine mixed emulsion formulated as a highly efficient vehicle that facilitates adenoviral gene transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim SY

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Soo-Yeon Kim,1,2 Sang-Jin Lee,2 Jin-Ki Kim,3 Han-Gon Choi,3 Soo-Jeong Lim1 1Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Sejong University, Seoul, Kwangjin-gu, Seoul, 2Immunotherapeutics Branch, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 3College of Pharmacy & Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Republic of Korea Abstract: Cationic lipid-based nanoparticles enhance viral gene transfer by forming electrostatic complexes with adenoviral vectors. We recently demonstrated the superior complexation capabilities of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium propane (DOTAP emulsion compared with a liposomal counterpart but the cytotoxicity of DOTAP emulsions remained a challenge. The present study is aimed at formulating an emulsion capable of acting as a highly effective viral gene transfer vehicle with reduced cytotoxicity and to physicochemically characterize the structures of virus-emulsion complexes in comparison with virus–liposome complexes when the only difference between emulsions and liposomes was the presence or absence of inner oil core. The emulsion formulation was performed by 1 reducing the content of DOTAP while increasing the content of zwitterionic lipid 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC, and 2 optimizing the oil content. The complexation capability of formulated DOTAP:DMPC mixed emulsions was similar to those of emulsions containing DOTAP alone while displaying significantly lower cytotoxicity. The complexation capabilities of the DOTAP:DMPC mixed emulsion were serum-compatible and were monitored in a variety of cell types, whereas its liposomal counterpart was totally ineffective. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and dynamic light scattering studies indicated that the optimized emulsions spontaneously surrounded the virus particles to generate emulsions that

Development and evaluation of a phenotypic assay monitoring resistance formation to protease inhibitors in HIV-1-infected patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Gehringer, Heike; Von der Helm, Klaus; Seelmeir, Sigrid; Weissbrich, Benedikt; Eberle, Josef; Nitschko, Hans

2003-05-01

A novel phenotypic assay, based on recombinant expression of the HIV-1-protease was developed and evaluated; it monitors the formation of resistance to protease inhibitors. The HIV-1 protease-encoding region from the blood sample of patients was amplified, ligated into the expression vector pBD2, and recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli TG1 cells. The resulting recombinant enzyme was purified by a newly developed one-step acid extraction protocol. The protease activity was determined in presence of five selected HIV protease inhibitors and the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) to the respective protease inhibitors determined. The degree of resistance was expressed in terms of x-fold increase in IC(50) compared to the IC(50) value of an HIV-1 wild type protease preparation. The established test system showed a reproducible recombinant expression of each individual patients' HIV-1 protease population. Samples of nine clinically well characterised HIV-1-infected patients with varying degrees of resistance were analysed. There was a good correlation between clinical parameters and the results obtained by this phenotypic assay. For the majority of patients a blind genotypic analysis of the patients' protease domain revealed a fair correlation to the results of the phenotypic assay. In a minority of patients our phenotypic results diverged from the genotypic ones. This novel phenotypic assay can be carried out within 8-10 days, and offers a significant advantage in time to the current employed phenotypic tests.

Packaging of HCV-RNA into lentiviral vector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caval, Vincent; Piver, Eric; Ivanyi-Nagy, Roland; Darlix, Jean-Luc; Pagès, Jean-Christophe

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► Description of HCV-RNA Core-D1 interactions. ► In vivo evaluation of the packaging of HCV genome. ► Determination of the role of the three basic sub-domains of D1. ► Heterologous system involving HIV-1 vector particles to mobilise HCV genome. ► Full length mobilisation of HCV genome and HCV-receptor-independent entry. -- Abstract: The advent of infectious molecular clones of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has unlocked the understanding of HCV life cycle. However, packaging of the genomic RNA, which is crucial to generate infectious viral particles, remains poorly understood. Molecular interactions of the domain 1 (D1) of HCV Core protein and HCV RNA have been described in vitro. Since compaction of genetic information within HCV genome has hampered conventional mutational approach to study packaging in vivo, we developed a novel heterologous system to evaluate the interactions between HCV RNA and Core D1. For this, we took advantage of the recruitment of Vpr fusion-proteins into HIV-1 particles. By fusing HCV Core D1 to Vpr we were able to package and transfer a HCV subgenomic replicon into a HIV-1 based lentiviral vector. We next examined how deletion mutants of basic sub-domains of Core D1 influenced HCV RNA recruitment. The results emphasized the crucial role of the first and third basic regions of D1 in packaging. Interestingly, the system described here allowed us to mobilise full-length JFH1 genome in CD81 defective cells, which are normally refractory to HCV infection. This finding paves the way to an evaluation of the replication capability of HCV in various cell types.

Timing of the HIV-1 subtype C epidemic in Ethiopia based on early virus strains and subsequent virus diversification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abebe, A.; Lukashov, V. V.; Pollakis, G.; Kliphuis, A.; Fontanet, A. L.; Goudsmit, J.; Rinke de Wit, T. F.

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To trace the introduction of HIV-1 subtype C into Ethiopia based on virus diversification during the epidemic. DESIGN: A set of 474 serum samples obtained in Ethiopia in 1982-1985 was tested for HIV-1. HIV-1 env gp120 V3 and gag or pol regions were sequenced and analysed together with

Live Imaging of HIV-1 Transfer across T Cell Virological Synapse to Epithelial Cells that Promotes Stromal Macrophage Infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Real, Fernando; Sennepin, Alexis; Ganor, Yonatan; Schmitt, Alain; Bomsel, Morgane

2018-05-08

During sexual intercourse, HIV-1 crosses epithelial barriers composing the genital mucosa, a poorly understood feature that requires an HIV-1-infected cell vectoring efficient mucosal HIV-1 entry. Therefore, urethral mucosa comprising a polarized epithelium and a stroma composed of fibroblasts and macrophages were reconstructed in vitro. Using this system, we demonstrate by live imaging that efficient HIV-1 transmission to stromal macrophages depends on cell-mediated transfer of the virus through virological synapses formed between HIV-1-infected CD4 + T cells and the epithelial cell mucosal surface. We visualized HIV-1 translocation through mucosal epithelial cells via transcytosis in regions where virological synapses occurred. In turn, interleukin-13 is secreted and HIV-1 targets macrophages, which develop a latent state of infection reversed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activation. The live observation of virological synapse formation reported herein is key in the design of vaccines and antiretroviral therapies aimed at blocking HIV-1 access to cellular reservoirs in genital mucosa. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Selective survival of peripheral blood lymphocytes in children with HIV-1 following delivery of an anti-HIV gene to bone marrow CD34(+) cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Podsakoff, Greg M; Engel, Barbara C; Carbonaro, Denise A; Choi, Chris; Smogorzewska, Elzbieta M; Bauer, Gerhard; Selander, David; Csik, Susan; Wilson, Kathy; Betts, Michael R; Koup, Richard A; Nabel, Gary J; Bishop, Keith; King, Steven; Schmidt, Manfred; von Kalle, Christof; Church, Joseph A; Kohn, Donald B

2005-07-01

Two HIV-1-infected children on antiretroviral therapy were enrolled into a clinical study of retroviral-mediated transfer of a gene that inhibits replication of HIV-1, targeting bone marrow CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Two retroviral vectors were used, one encoding a "humanized" dominant-negative REV protein (huM10) that is a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 replication and one encoding a nontranslated marker gene (FX) to serve as an internal control for the level of gene marking. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) containing the huM10 gene or FX gene were detected by quantitative PCR at frequencies of approximately 1/10,000 in both subjects for the first 1-3 months following re-infusion of the gene-transduced bone marrow, but then were at or below the limits of detection (<1/1,000,000) at most times over 2 years. In one patient, a reappearance of PBMC containing the huM10 gene, but not the FX gene, occurred concomitant with a rise in the HIV-1 viral load during a period of nonadherence to the antiretroviral regimen. Unique clones of gene-marked PBMC were detected by LAM-PCR during the time of elevated HIV-1 levels. These findings indicate that there was a selective survival advantage for PBMC containing the huM10 gene during the time of increased HIV-1 load.

Construction and evaluation of novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vaccine vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbink, Peter; Maxfield, Lori F; Ng'ang'a, David; Borducchi, Erica N; Iampietro, M Justin; Bricault, Christine A; Teigler, Jeffrey E; Blackmore, Stephen; Parenteau, Lily; Wagh, Kshitij; Handley, Scott A; Zhao, Guoyan; Virgin, Herbert W; Korber, Bette; Barouch, Dan H

2015-02-01

Adenovirus vectors are widely used as vaccine candidates for a variety of pathogens, including HIV-1. To date, human and chimpanzee adenoviruses have been explored in detail as vaccine vectors. The phylogeny of human and chimpanzee adenoviruses is overlapping, and preexisting humoral and cellular immunity to both are exhibited in human populations worldwide. More distantly related adenoviruses may therefore offer advantages as vaccine vectors. Here we describe the primary isolation and vectorization of three novel adenoviruses from rhesus monkeys. The seroprevalence of these novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vectors was extremely low in sub-Saharan Africa human populations, and these vectors proved to have immunogenicity comparable to that of human and chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine vectors in mice. These rhesus monkey adenoviruses phylogenetically clustered with the poorly described adenovirus species G and robustly stimulated innate immune responses. These novel adenoviruses represent a new class of candidate vaccine vectors. Although there have been substantial efforts in the development of vaccine vectors from human and chimpanzee adenoviruses, far less is known about rhesus monkey adenoviruses. In this report, we describe the isolation and vectorization of three novel rhesus monkey adenoviruses. These vectors exhibit virologic and immunologic characteristics that make them attractive as potential candidate vaccine vectors for both HIV-1 and other pathogens. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Herpes simplex virus type 1-derived recombinant and amplicon vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraefel, Cornel; Marconi, Peggy; Epstein, Alberto L

2011-01-01

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a human pathogen whose lifestyle is based on a long-term dual interaction with the infected host, being able to establish both lytic and latent infections. The virus genome is a 153 kbp double-stranded DNA molecule encoding more than 80 genes. The interest of HSV-1 as gene transfer vector stems from its ability to infect many different cell types, both quiescent and proliferating cells, the very high packaging capacity of the virus capsid, the outstanding neurotropic adaptations that this virus has evolved, and the fact that it never integrates into the cellular chromosomes, thus avoiding the risk of insertional mutagenesis. Two types of vectors can be derived from HSV-1, recombinant vectors and amplicon vectors, and different methodologies have been developed to prepare large stocks of each type of vector. This chapter summarizes (1) the two approaches most commonly used to prepare recombinant vectors through homologous recombination, either in eukaryotic cells or in bacteria, and (2) the two methodologies currently used to generate helper-free amplicon vectors, either using a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based approach or a Cre/loxP site-specific recombination strategy.

Comparison of [{sup 18}F]FHBG and [{sup 14}C]FIAU for imaging of HSV1-tk reporter gene expression: adenoviral infection vs stable transfection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Min, Jung-Jun; Iyer, Meera [The Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, UCLA School of Medicine, B3-399A BRI 700 Westwood Plaza, CA 90095-1770, Los Angeles (United States); Gambhir, Sanjiv S. [The Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, UCLA School of Medicine, B3-399A BRI 700 Westwood Plaza, CA 90095-1770, Los Angeles (United States); Department of Radiology, Bio-X Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California (United States)

2003-11-01

Earlier studies involving comparison of different reporter probes have shown conflicting results between pyrimidine nucleosides [e.g., 2'-fluoro-2'-deoxy-1-{beta}-d-arabinofuranosyl-5-iodouracil (FIAU)] and acycloguanosine derivatives [e.g., penciclovir (PCV), 9-(4-fluoro-3-hydroxymethylbutyl)guanine (FHBG)]. We hypothesized that this reported discrepancy may be related to how the reporter gene is delivered to the cells - stably transfected vs adenoviral infection. We directly compared the uptake characteristics of [{sup 18}F]FHBG, [{sup 3}H]PCV, and [{sup 14}C]FIAU in cell culture and in vivo using an adenoviral mediated gene transfer model and stably transfected cells. We further compared the uptake of three reporter probes using both HSV1-tk and a mutant HSV1-sr39tk expressing cells to assess the optimal reporter probe/reporter gene combination. [{sup 14}C]FIAU accumulation was greater than that of [{sup 3}H]PCV and [{sup 18}F]FHBG in control cells and in HSV1-tk stably transfected cells (P<0.001). After infection of C6 cells with AdCMV-HSV1-tk (1.5 x 10{sup 8} pfu), [{sup 18}F]FHBG and [{sup 3}H]PCV accumulation was significantly greater than that of [{sup 14}C]FIAU (P<0.01). [{sup 18}F]FHBG and [{sup 3}H]PCV accumulated to a significantly greater extent than [{sup 14}C]FIAU in C6-stb-sr39tk+ and AdCMV-HSV1-sr39tk infected C6 cells (P<0.001). Results from the nude mice supported the results in cell culture. [{sup 14}C]FIAU led to significantly higher %ID/g in C6-stb-tk+ xenografts than [{sup 18}F]FHBG (P<0.05); however, compared with [{sup 14}C]FIAU, [{sup 18}F]FHBG led to as high %ID/g in HSV1-tk expressing hepatocytes and to significantly greater %ID/g in C6-stb-sr39tk+ xenografts and HSV1-sr39tk expressing hepatocytes. Dynamic sequential images showed that [{sup 18}F]FHBG was well retained in HSV1-sr39tk expressing cells (C6-stb-sr39tk+) for at least 4 h after injection, while it was rapidly cleared from HSV1-tk expressing cells (MH3924A

Generation of arbitrary vector fields based on a pair of orthogonal elliptically polarized base vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Danfeng; Gu, Bing; Rui, Guanghao; Zhan, Qiwen; Cui, Yiping

2016-02-22

We present an arbitrary vector field with hybrid polarization based on the combination of a pair of orthogonal elliptically polarized base vectors on the Poincaré sphere. It is shown that the created vector field is only dependent on the latitude angle 2χ but is independent on the longitude angle 2ψ on the Poincaré sphere. By adjusting the latitude angle 2χ, which is related to two identical waveplates in a common path interferometric arrangement, one could obtain arbitrary type of vector fields. Experimentally, we demonstrate the generation of such kind of vector fields and confirm the distribution of state of polarization by the measurement of Stokes parameters. Besides, we investigate the tight focusing properties of these vector fields. It is found that the additional degree of freedom 2χ provided by arbitrary vector field with hybrid polarization allows one to control the spatial structure of polarization and to engineer the focusing field.

Conformational preferences of a chimeric peptide HIV-1 immunogen from the C4-V3 domains of gp120 envelope protein of HIV-1 CAN0A based on solution NMR: comparison to a related immunogenic peptide from HIV-1 RF.

Science.gov (United States)

Vu, H M; de Lorimier, R; Moody, M A; Haynes, B F; Spicer, L D

1996-04-23

A critical problem to overcome on HIV vaccine design is the variability among HIV strains. One strategy to solve this problem is the construction of multicomponent immunogens reflective of common HIV motifs. Currently, it is not known if these motifs should be based primarily on amino acid sequence or higher-order structure of the viral proteins of a combination of the two. In this paper, we report NMR-derived solution conformations for a sympathetic peptide taken from the C4 and V3 domains of HIV-1 CAN0A gp120 envelope protein. This peptide, designated T1-SP10CAN0(A), is compared to a recently reported C4-V3 peptide. T1-SP10RF(A) from the HIV-1 RF strain [de Lorimier et al. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 2055-2062], in terms of conformational features and immune responses in mice [Haynes et al. (1995) AIDS Res. Hum. Retroviruses 11, 211-221]. The T1 segment of 16 amino acids from the gp120 C4 domain is identical in both peptides and exhibits nascent helical character. The SP10 region, taken from the gp120 V3 loop, differs from that of T1-SP10RF(A) in both sequence and conformations. A reverse turn is observed at the conserved GPGX sequence. The rest of the Sp10 domain is extended with the exception of the last three residues which show evidence for a helical arrangement. Modeling of the turn region of the T1-SP10CAN0(A) peptide shows exposure of a continuous apolar stretch of side chains similar to that reported in the crystal structure of a V3 peptide from HIV-1 MN complexed with a monoclonal antibody [Rini et al. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 6325-6329]. this hydrophobic patch is interrupted by a charged Lys residue in the T1-SP10RF(A) peptide. This observation suggests that the HIV-1 CAN0A and HIV-1 RF C4-V3 peptides can induce widely different anti-HIV antibodies. consistent with immunogenic results.

Involvement of histone methyltransferase GLP in HIV-1 latency through catalysis of H3K9 dimethylation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Donglin; Qu, Xiying; Li, Lin; Zhou, Xin; Liu, Sijie; Lin, Shiguan; Wang, Pengfei; Liu, Shaohui; Kong, Chuijin; Wang, Xiaohui; Liu, Lin; Zhu, Huanzhang

2013-01-01

Understanding the mechanism of HIV-1 latency is crucial to eradication of the viral reservoir in HIV-1-infected individuals. However, the role of histone methyltransferase (HMT) G9a-like protein (GLP) in HIV-1 latency is still unclear. In the present work, we established four clonal cell lines containing HIV-1 vector. We found that the integration sites of most clonal cell lines favored active gene regions. However, we also observed hypomethylation of CpG of HIV 5′LTR in all four clonal cell lines. Additionally, 5′-deoxy-5′-methylthioadenosine (MTA), a broad-spectrum histone methyltransferase inhibitor, was used to examine the role of histone methylation in HIV-1 latency. MTA was found to decrease the level of H3K9 dimethylation, causing reactivation of latent HIV-1 in C11 cells. GLP knockdown by small interfering RNA clearly induced HIV-1 LTR expression. Results suggest that GLP may play a significant role in the maintenance of HIV-1 latency by catalyzing dimethylation of H3K9. - Highlights: ► We have established an in vitro model of HIV-1 latency. ► The integration sites of most clonal cell lines favor in active gene regions. ► Hypomethylation occurs in CpG islands of HIV 5′LTR in all four clonal cell lines. ► MTA can reactivate latent HIV-1 by decreasing the level of H3K9 me2 in C11 cells. ► HMT GLP may play a significant role in the maintenance of HIV-1 latency

Characteristics of HIV-2 and HIV-1/HIV-2 Dually Seropositive Adults in West Africa Presenting for Care and Antiretroviral Therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ekouevi, Didier K; Balestre, Eric; Coffie, Patrick A

2013-01-01

HIV-2 is endemic in West Africa. There is a lack of evidence-based guidelines on the diagnosis, management and antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-2 or HIV-1/HIV-2 dual infections. Because of these issues, we designed a West African collaborative cohort for HIV-2 infection within the framework o...... of the International epidemiological Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA)....

Sieve analysis of breakthrough HIV-1 sequences in HVTN 505 identifies vaccine pressure targeting the CD4 binding site of Env-gp120.

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deCamp, Allan C; Rolland, Morgane; Edlefsen, Paul T; Sanders-Buell, Eric; Hall, Breana; Magaret, Craig A; Fiore-Gartland, Andrew J; Juraska, Michal; Carpp, Lindsay N; Karuna, Shelly T; Bose, Meera; LePore, Steven; Miller, Shana; O'Sullivan, Annemarie; Poltavee, Kultida; Bai, Hongjun; Dommaraju, Kalpana; Zhao, Hong; Wong, Kim; Chen, Lennie; Ahmed, Hasan; Goodman, Derrick; Tay, Matthew Z; Gottardo, Raphael; Koup, Richard A; Bailer, Robert; Mascola, John R; Graham, Barney S; Roederer, Mario; O'Connell, Robert J; Michael, Nelson L; Robb, Merlin L; Adams, Elizabeth; D'Souza, Patricia; Kublin, James; Corey, Lawrence; Geraghty, Daniel E; Frahm, Nicole; Tomaras, Georgia D; McElrath, M Juliana; Frenkel, Lisa; Styrchak, Sheila; Tovanabutra, Sodsai; Sobieszczyk, Magdalena E; Hammer, Scott M; Kim, Jerome H; Mullins, James I; Gilbert, Peter B

2017-01-01

Although the HVTN 505 DNA/recombinant adenovirus type 5 vector HIV-1 vaccine trial showed no overall efficacy, analysis of breakthrough HIV-1 sequences in participants can help determine whether vaccine-induced immune responses impacted viruses that caused infection. We analyzed 480 HIV-1 genomes sampled from 27 vaccine and 20 placebo recipients and found that intra-host HIV-1 diversity was significantly lower in vaccine recipients (P ≤ 0.04, Q-values ≤ 0.09) in Gag, Pol, Vif and envelope glycoprotein gp120 (Env-gp120). Furthermore, Env-gp120 sequences from vaccine recipients were significantly more distant from the subtype B vaccine insert than sequences from placebo recipients (P = 0.01, Q-value = 0.12). These vaccine effects were associated with signatures mapping to CD4 binding site and CD4-induced monoclonal antibody footprints. These results suggest either (i) no vaccine efficacy to block acquisition of any viral genotype but vaccine-accelerated Env evolution post-acquisition; or (ii) vaccine efficacy against HIV-1s with Env sequences closest to the vaccine insert combined with increased acquisition due to other factors, potentially including the vaccine vector.

HIV-1 Tat regulates the expression of the dcw operon and stimulates the proliferation of bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Jinsong; Zhang, Yumin; Knapp, Pamela E; Zhao, Tianyong

2016-01-01

Infections of pathogenic bacteria are very common in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. However, the biological effects of HIV-1 Tat on bacteria are incompletely understood. In this study, HIV-1 Tat was expressed in Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA01) to investigate its biological effects on bacteria. Bacterial cells expressing either HIV-1 Tat1-86 (Tat1-86) or HIV-1 Tat1-72 (Tat1-72) grow significantly faster than those with either only an empty vector or an unrelated control (GFP or Rluc). Supplementation of purified HIV-1 Tat1-86 or Tat1-101 protein into bacterial culture medium stimulated the growth of both E. coli and PA01. The expression profile of certain cell division-associated genes, such as those in the division cell wall (dcw) operon (ftsA, ftsQ, ftsW and ftsZ), yafO and zipA, was altered in HIV-1 Tat1-86 expressing E. coli BL21(DE3). Furthermore, the expression of firefly luciferase (Fluc) reporter gene, when engineered for control by the dcw promoter and terminator, was enhanced by HIV-1 Tat in E. coli, confirming that HIV-1 Tat transcriptionally regulates the expression of the dcw operon. The finding that HIV-1 Tat stimulates bacterial growth whether it is produced intracellularly or applied extracellularly may have relevance for HIV patients who are highly susceptible to opportunistic bacterial infections. Contents category: Viruses -Retroviruses. The GenBank accession number for the sequence of HIV-1 Tat1-86 is AF324439.1. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A DEAD box protein facilitates HIV-1 replication as a cellular co-factor of Rev

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Jianhua; Kubota, Satoshi; Yang Bin; Zhou Naiming; Zhang Hui; Godbout, Roseline; Pomerantz, Roger J.

2004-01-01

HIV-1 Rev escorts unspliced viral mRNAs out of the nucleus of infected cells, which allows formation of infectious HIV-1 virions. We have identified a putative DEAD box (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) RNA helicase, DDX1, as a cellular co-factor of Rev, through yeast and mammalian two-hybrid systems using the N-terminal motif of Rev as 'bait'. DDX1 is not a functional homolog of HIV-1 Rev, but down-regulation of DDX1 resulted in an alternative splicing pattern of Rev-responsive element (RRE)-containing mRNA, and attenuation of Gag p24 antigen production from HLfb rev(-) cells rescued by exogenous Rev. Co-transfection of a DDX1 expression vector with HIV-1 significantly increased viral production. DDX1 binding to Rev, as well as to the RRE, strongly suggest that DDX1 affects Rev function through the Rev-RRE axis. Moreover, down-regulation of DDX1 altered the steady state subcellular distribution of Rev, from nuclear/nucleolar to cytoplasmic dominance. These findings indicate that DDX1 is a critical cellular co-factor for Rev function, which maintains the proper subcellular distribution of this lentiviral regulatory protein. Therefore, alterations in DDX1-Rev interactions could induce HIV-1 persistence and targeting DDX1 may lead to rationally designed and novel anti-HIV-1 strategies and therapeutics

Influenza vaccination of HIV-1-positive and HIV-1-negative former intravenous drug users.

Science.gov (United States)

Amendola, A; Boschini, A; Colzani, D; Anselmi, G; Oltolina, A; Zucconi, R; Begnini, M; Besana, S; Tanzi, E; Zanetti, A R

2001-12-01

The immunogenicity of an anti-influenza vaccine was assessed in 409 former intravenous drug user volunteers and its effect on the levels of HIV-1 RNA, proviral DNA and on CD4+ lymphocyte counts in a subset HIV-1-positive subjects was measured. HIV-1-positive individuals (n = 72) were divided into three groups on the basis of their CD4+ lymphocyte counts, while the 337 HIV-1-negative participants were allocated into group four. Haemagglutination inhibiting (HI) responses varied from 45.8 to 70% in the HIV-1-positive subjects and were significantly higher in group four (80.7% responses to the H1N1 strain, 81.6% to the H3N2 strain, and 83% to the B strain). The percentage of subjects with HI protective antibody titres (> or = 1:40) increased significantly after vaccination, especially in HIV-1 uninfected subjects. Immunization caused no significant changes in CD4+ counts and in neither plasma HIV-1 RNA nor proviral DNA levels. Therefore, vaccination against influenza may benefit persons infected by HIV-1. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The global transmission network of HIV-1.

Science.gov (United States)

Wertheim, Joel O; Leigh Brown, Andrew J; Hepler, N Lance; Mehta, Sanjay R; Richman, Douglas D; Smith, Davey M; Kosakovsky Pond, Sergei L

2014-01-15

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is pandemic, but its contemporary global transmission network has not been characterized. A better understanding of the properties and dynamics of this network is essential for surveillance, prevention, and eventual eradication of HIV. Here, we apply a simple and computationally efficient network-based approach to all publicly available HIV polymerase sequences in the global database, revealing a contemporary picture of the spread of HIV-1 within and between countries. This approach automatically recovered well-characterized transmission clusters and extended other clusters thought to be contained within a single country across international borders. In addition, previously undescribed transmission clusters were discovered. Together, these clusters represent all known modes of HIV transmission. The extent of international linkage revealed by our comprehensive approach demonstrates the need to consider the global diversity of HIV, even when describing local epidemics. Finally, the speed of this method allows for near-real-time surveillance of the pandemic's progression.

Packaging of HCV-RNA into lentiviral vector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caval, Vincent [INSERM U966, Universite Francois Rabelais de Tours, Faculte de Medecine, 10 Bd. Tonnelle, 37000 Tours (France); Piver, Eric [INSERM U966, Universite Francois Rabelais de Tours, Faculte de Medecine, 10 Bd. Tonnelle, 37000 Tours (France); Service de Biochimie et Biologie Moleculaire, CHRU de Tours (France); Ivanyi-Nagy, Roland; Darlix, Jean-Luc [LaboRetro, ENS-Lyon INSERM, U758, 46 Allee d' Italie, 69364 Lyon (France); Pages, Jean-Christophe, E-mail: jean-christophe.pages@univ-tours.fr [INSERM U966, Universite Francois Rabelais de Tours, Faculte de Medecine, 10 Bd. Tonnelle, 37000 Tours (France); Service de Biochimie et Biologie Moleculaire, CHRU de Tours (France)

2011-11-04

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Description of HCV-RNA Core-D1 interactions. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer In vivo evaluation of the packaging of HCV genome. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Determination of the role of the three basic sub-domains of D1. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Heterologous system involving HIV-1 vector particles to mobilise HCV genome. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Full length mobilisation of HCV genome and HCV-receptor-independent entry. -- Abstract: The advent of infectious molecular clones of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has unlocked the understanding of HCV life cycle. However, packaging of the genomic RNA, which is crucial to generate infectious viral particles, remains poorly understood. Molecular interactions of the domain 1 (D1) of HCV Core protein and HCV RNA have been described in vitro. Since compaction of genetic information within HCV genome has hampered conventional mutational approach to study packaging in vivo, we developed a novel heterologous system to evaluate the interactions between HCV RNA and Core D1. For this, we took advantage of the recruitment of Vpr fusion-proteins into HIV-1 particles. By fusing HCV Core D1 to Vpr we were able to package and transfer a HCV subgenomic replicon into a HIV-1 based lentiviral vector. We next examined how deletion mutants of basic sub-domains of Core D1 influenced HCV RNA recruitment. The results emphasized the crucial role of the first and third basic regions of D1 in packaging. Interestingly, the system described here allowed us to mobilise full-length JFH1 genome in CD81 defective cells, which are normally refractory to HCV infection. This finding paves the way to an evaluation of the replication capability of HCV in various cell types.

Down-regulation of viral replication by adenoviral-mediated expression of siRNA against cellular cofactors for hepatitis C virus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jing; Yamada, Osamu; Sakamoto, Takashi; Yoshida, Hiroshi; Iwai, Takahiro; Matsushita, Yoshihisa; Shimamura, Hideo; Araki, Hiromasa; Shimotohno, Kunitada

2004-01-01

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is currently being evaluated not only as a powerful tool for functional genomics, but also as a potentially promising therapeutic agent for cancer and infectious diseases. Inhibitory effect of siRNA on viral replication has been demonstrated in multiple pathogenic viruses. However, because of the high sequence specificity of siRNA-mediated RNA degradation, antiviral efficacy of siRNA directed to viral genome will be largely limited by emergence of escape variants resistant to siRNA due to high mutation rates of virus, especially RNA viruses such as poliovirus and hepatitis C virus (HCV). To investigate the therapeutic feasibility of siRNAs specific for the putative cellular cofactors for HCV, we constructed adenovirus vectors expressing siRNAs against La, polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB), subunit gamma of human eukaryotic initiation factors 2B (eIF2Bγ), and human VAMP-associated protein of 33 kDa (hVAP-33). Adenoviral-mediated expression of siRNAs markedly diminished expression of the endogenous genes, and silencing of La, PTB, and hVAP-33 by siRNAs substantially blocked HCV replication in Huh-7 cells. Thus, our studies demonstrate the feasibility and potential of adenoviral-delivered siRNAs specific for cellular cofactors in combating HCV infection, which can be used either alone or in combination with siRNA against viral genome to prevent the escape of mutant variants and provide additive or synergistic anti-HCV effects

Comparative Immunogenicity in Rhesus Monkeys of DNA Plasmid, Recombinant Vaccinia Virus, and Replication-Defective Adenovirus Vectors Expressing a Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 gag Gene

OpenAIRE

Casimiro, Danilo R.; Chen, Ling; Fu, Tong-Ming; Evans, Robert K.; Caulfield, Michael J.; Davies, Mary-Ellen; Tang, Aimin; Chen, Minchun; Huang, Lingyi; Harris, Virginia; Freed, Daniel C.; Wilson, Keith A.; Dubey, Sheri; Zhu, De-Min; Nawrocki, Denise

2003-01-01

Cellular immune responses, particularly those associated with CD3+ CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), play a primary role in controlling viral infection, including persistent infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Accordingly, recent HIV-1 vaccine research efforts have focused on establishing the optimal means of eliciting such antiviral CTL immune responses. We evaluated several DNA vaccine formulations, a modified vaccinia virus Ankara vector, and a replication-defecti...

Human Polycomb group EED protein negatively affects HIV-1 assembly and release

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Darlix Jean-Luc

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The human EED protein, a member of the superfamily of Polycomb group (PcG proteins with WD-40 repeats, has been found to interact with three HIV-1 components, namely the structural Gag matrix protein (MA, the integrase enzyme (IN and the Nef protein. The aim of the present study was to analyze the possible biological role of EED in HIV-1 replication, using the HIV-1-based vector HIV-Luc and EED protein expressed by DNA transfection of 293T cells. Results During the early phase of HIV-1 infection, a slight negative effect on virus infectivity occurred in EED-expressing cells, which appeared to be dependent on EED-MA interaction. At late times post infection, EED caused an important reduction of virus production, from 20- to 25-fold as determined by CAp24 immunoassay, to 10- to 80-fold based on genomic RNA levels, and this decrease was not due to a reduction of Gag protein synthesis. Coexpression of WTNef, or the non-N-myristoylated mutant NefG2A, restored virus yields to levels obtained in the absence of exogenous EED protein. This effect was not observed with mutant NefΔ57 mimicking the Nef core, or with the lipid raft-retargeted fusion protein LAT-Nef. LATAA-Nef, a mutant defective in the lipid raft addressing function, had the same anti-EED effect as WTNef. Cell fractionation and confocal imaging showed that, in the absence of Nef, EED mainly localized in membrane domains different from the lipid rafts. Upon co-expression with WTNef, NefG2A or LATAA-Nef, but not with NefΔ57 or LAT-Nef, EED was found to relocate into an insoluble fraction along with Nef protein. Electron microscopy of HIV-Luc producer cells overexpressing EED showed significant less virus budding at the cell surface compared to control cells, and ectopic assembly and clustering of nuclear pore complexes within the cytoplasm. Conclusion Our data suggested that EED exerted an antiviral activity at the late stage of HIV-1 replication, which included genomic

Semen Bacterial Concentrations and HIV-1 RNA Shedding Among HIV-1-Seropositive Kenyan Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Korhonen, Christine J; Srinivasan, Sujatha; Huang, Dandi; Ko, Daisy L; Sanders, Eduard J; Peshu, Norbert M; Krieger, John N; Muller, Charles H; Coombs, Robert W; Fredricks, David N; Graham, Susan M

2017-03-01

HIV-1 is transmitted through semen from men to their sexual partners. Genital infections can increase HIV-1 RNA shedding in semen, but shedding also occurs in the absence of typical pathogens. We hypothesized that higher bacterial concentrations in semen would be associated with higher HIV-1 RNA levels. We analyzed semen samples from 42 HIV-1-seropositive Kenyan men using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assess bacterial concentrations and real-time PCR to measure HIV-1 RNA levels. Generalized estimation equations were used to evaluate associations between these 2 measures. Broad-range 16S rRNA gene PCR with pyrosequencing was performed on a subset of 13 samples to assess bacterial community composition. Bacteria were detected in 96.6% of 88 samples by quantitative PCR. Semen bacterial concentration and HIV-1 RNA levels were correlated 0.30 (P = 0.01). The association between bacterial concentration and HIV-1 RNA detection was not significant after adjustment for antiretroviral therapy (ART) (adjusted odds ratio: 1.27, 95% CI: 0.84 to 1.91). Factors associated with semen bacterial concentration included insertive anal sex (adjusted beta 0.92, 95% CI: 0.12 to 1.73) and ART use (adjusted beta: -0.77, 95% CI: -1.50 to 0.04). Among 13 samples with pyrosequencing data, Corynebacterium spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Streptococcus spp. were most frequently detected. Most of these HIV-1-infected men had bacteria in their semen. ART use was associated with undetectable semen HIV-1 RNA and lower semen bacterial concentrations, whereas insertive anal sex was associated with higher bacterial concentrations. Additional studies evaluating the relationship between semen bacteria, inflammation, mucosal immunity, and HIV-1 shedding are needed to understand implications for HIV-1 transmission.

Image Coding Based on Address Vector Quantization.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Yushu

Image coding is finding increased application in teleconferencing, archiving, and remote sensing. This thesis investigates the potential of Vector Quantization (VQ), a relatively new source coding technique, for compression of monochromatic and color images. Extensions of the Vector Quantization technique to the Address Vector Quantization method have been investigated. In Vector Quantization, the image data to be encoded are first processed to yield a set of vectors. A codeword from the codebook which best matches the input image vector is then selected. Compression is achieved by replacing the image vector with the index of the code-word which produced the best match, the index is sent to the channel. Reconstruction of the image is done by using a table lookup technique, where the label is simply used as an address for a table containing the representative vectors. A code-book of representative vectors (codewords) is generated using an iterative clustering algorithm such as K-means, or the generalized Lloyd algorithm. A review of different Vector Quantization techniques are given in chapter 1. Chapter 2 gives an overview of codebook design methods including the Kohonen neural network to design codebook. During the encoding process, the correlation of the address is considered and Address Vector Quantization is developed for color image and monochrome image coding. Address VQ which includes static and dynamic processes is introduced in chapter 3. In order to overcome the problems in Hierarchical VQ, Multi-layer Address Vector Quantization is proposed in chapter 4. This approach gives the same performance as that of the normal VQ scheme but the bit rate is about 1/2 to 1/3 as that of the normal VQ method. In chapter 5, a Dynamic Finite State VQ based on a probability transition matrix to select the best subcodebook to encode the image is developed. In chapter 6, a new adaptive vector quantization scheme, suitable for color video coding, called "A Self -Organizing

Inhibition of corneal neovascularization by recombinant adenovirus-mediated sFlk-1 expression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Hui; Wu Jihong; Li Huiming; Wang Zhanli; Chen Xiafang; Tian Yuhua; Yi Miaoying; Ji Xunda; Ma Jialie; Huang Qian

2007-01-01

The interaction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors (Flt-1, Flk-1/KDR) is correlated with neovascularization in the eyes. Therefore, blocking the binding of VEGF and the corresponding receptor has become critical for inhibiting corneal neovascularization. In this study, we have expressed the cDNA for sFlk-1 under the control of cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter (CMV) from an E1/partial E3 deleted replication defective recombinant adenovirus, and Ad.sflk-1 expression was determined by Western blotting. We have shown that conditioned media from Ad.sflk-1-infected ARPE-19 cells significantly reduced VEGF-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and murine endothelial cells (SVEC) proliferation in vitro compared with the control vector. In vivo, adenoviral vectors expressing green fluorescent protein alone (Ad.GFP) were utilized to monitor gene transfer to the cornea. Moreover, in the models of corneal neovascularization, the injection of Ad.sflk-1 (10 8 PFU) into the anterior chamber could significantly inhibit angiogenic changes compared with Ad.null-injected and vehicle-injected models. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that corneal endothelial cells and corneal stroma of cauterized rat eyes were efficiently transduced and expressed sFlk-1. These results not only support that adenoviral vectors are capable of high-level transgene expression but also demonstrate that Ad.sflk-1 gene therapy might be a feasible approach for inhibiting the development of corneal neovascularization

A phase I double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study of a multigenic HIV-1 adenovirus subtype 35 vector vaccine in healthy uninfected adults.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael C Keefer

Full Text Available We conducted a phase I, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the safety and immunogenicity of escalating doses of two recombinant replication defective adenovirus serotype 35 (Ad35 vectors containing gag, reverse transcriptase, integrase and nef (Ad35-GRIN and env (Ad35-ENV, both derived from HIV-1 subtype A isolates. The trial enrolled 56 healthy HIV-uninfected adults.Ad35-GRIN/ENV (Ad35-GRIN and Ad35-ENV mixed in the same vial in equal proportions or Ad35-GRIN was administered intramuscularly at 0 and 6 months. Participants were randomized to receive either vaccine or placebo (10/4 per group, respectively within one of four dosage groups: Ad35-GRIN/ENV 2×10(9 (A, 2×10(10 (B, 2×10(11 (C, or Ad35-GRIN 1×10(10 (D viral particles.No vaccine-related serious adverse event was reported. Reactogenicity events reported were dose-dependent, mostly mild or moderate, some severe in Group C volunteers, all transient and resolving spontaneously. IFN-γ ELISPOT responses to any vaccine antigen were detected in 50, 56, 70 and 90% after the first vaccination, and in 75, 100, 88 and 86% of Groups A-D vaccine recipients after the second vaccination, respectively. The median spot forming cells (SFC per 10(6 PBMC to any antigen was 78-139 across Groups A-C and 158-174 in Group D, after each of the vaccinations with a maximum of 2991 SFC. Four to five HIV proteins were commonly recognized across all the groups and over multiple timepoints. CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses were polyfunctional. Env antibodies were detected in all Group A-C vaccinees and Gag antibodies in most vaccinees after the second immunization. Ad35 neutralizing titers remained low after the second vaccination.Ad35-GRIN/ENV reactogenicity was dose-related. HIV-specific cellular and humoral responses were seen in the majority of volunteers immunized with Ad35-GRIN/ENV or Ad35-GRIN and increased after the second vaccination. T-cell responses were broad and polyfunctional

HLA Class I-Mediated HIV-1 Control in Vietnamese Infected with HIV-1 Subtype A/E.

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Chikata, Takayuki; Tran, Giang Van; Murakoshi, Hayato; Akahoshi, Tomohiro; Qi, Ying; Naranbhai, Vivek; Kuse, Nozomi; Tamura, Yoshiko; Koyanagi, Madoka; Sakai, Sachiko; Nguyen, Dung Hoai; Nguyen, Dung Thi; Nguyen, Ha Thu; Nguyen, Trung Vu; Oka, Shinichi; Martin, Maureen P; Carrington, Mary; Sakai, Keiko; Nguyen, Kinh Van; Takiguchi, Masafumi

2018-03-01

HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) play an important role in the control of HIV-1 subtype B or C infection. However, the role of CTLs in HIV-1 subtype A/E infection still remains unclear. Here we investigated the association of HLA class I alleles with clinical outcomes in treatment-naive Vietnamese infected with subtype A/E virus. We found that HLA-C*12:02 was significantly associated with lower plasma viral loads (pVL) and higher CD4 counts and that the HLA-A*29:01-B*07:05-C*15:05 haplotype was significantly associated with higher pVL and lower CD4 counts than those for individuals without these respective genotypes. Nine Pol and three Nef mutations were associated with at least one HLA allele in the HLA-A*29:01-B*07:05-C*15:05 haplotype, with a strong negative correlation between the number of HLA-associated Pol mutations and CD4 count as well as a positive correlation with pVL for individuals with these HLA alleles. The results suggest that the accumulation of mutations selected by CTLs restricted by these HLA alleles affects HIV control. IMPORTANCE Most previous studies on HLA association with disease progression after HIV-1 infection have been performed on cohorts infected with HIV-1 subtypes B and C, whereas few such population-based studies have been reported for cohorts infected with the Asian subtype A/E virus. In this study, we analyzed the association of HLA class I alleles with clinical outcomes for 536 HIV-1 subtype A/E-infected Vietnamese individuals. We found that HLA-C*12:02 is protective, while the HLA haplotype HLA-A*29:01-B*07:05-C*15:05 is deleterious. The individuals with HIV-1 mutations associated with at least one of the HLA alleles in the deleterious HLA haplotype had higher plasma viral loads and lower CD4 counts than those of individuals without the mutations, suggesting that viral adaptation and escape from HLA-mediated immune control occurred. The present study identifies a protective allele and a deleterious haplotype for HIV-1

Nuclear retention of multiply spliced HIV-1 RNA in resting CD4+ T cells.

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Kara G Lassen

2006-07-01

Full Text Available HIV-1 latency in resting CD4+ T cells represents a major barrier to virus eradication in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART. We describe here a novel post-transcriptional block in HIV-1 gene expression in resting CD4+ T cells from patients on HAART. This block involves the aberrant localization of multiply spliced (MS HIV-1 RNAs encoding the critical positive regulators Tat and Rev. Although these RNAs had no previously described export defect, we show that they exhibit strict nuclear localization in resting CD4+ T cells from patients on HAART. Overexpression of the transcriptional activator Tat from non-HIV vectors allowed virus production in these cells. Thus, the nuclear retention of MS HIV-1 RNA interrupts a positive feedback loop and contributes to the non-productive nature of infection of resting CD4+ T cells. To define the mechanism of nuclear retention, proteomic analysis was used to identify proteins that bind MS HIV-1 RNA. Polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB was identified as an HIV-1 RNA-binding protein differentially expressed in resting and activated CD4+ T cells. Overexpression of PTB in resting CD4+ T cells from patients on HAART allowed cytoplasmic accumulation of HIV-1 RNAs. PTB overexpression also induced virus production by resting CD4+ T cells. Virus culture experiments showed that overexpression of PTB in resting CD4+ T cells from patients on HAART allowed release of replication-competent virus, while preserving a resting cellular phenotype. Whether through effects on RNA export or another mechanism, the ability of PTB to reverse latency without inducing cellular activation is a result with therapeutic implications.

Generation and characterization of a stable cell population releasing fluorescent HIV-1-based Virus Like Particles in an inducible way

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Bosch Valerie

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The availability of cell lines releasing fluorescent viral particles can significantly support a variety of investigations, including the study of virus-cell interaction and the screening of antiviral compounds. Regarding HIV-1, the recovery of such biologic reagents represents a very hard challenge due to the intrinsic cytotoxicity of many HIV-1 products. We sought to overcome such a limitation by using a cell line releasing HIV-1 particles in an inducible way, and by exploiting the ability of a HIV-1 Nef mutant to be incorporated in virions at quite high levels. Results Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a HIV-1 packaging cell line, termed 18-4s, able to release valuable amounts of fluorescent HIV-1 based Virus-Like Particles (VLPs in an inducible way. 18-4s cells were recovered by constitutively expressing the HIV-1 NefG3C mutant fused with the enhanced-green fluorescent protein (NefG3C-GFP in a previously isolated inducible HIV-1 packaging cell line. The G3C mutation creates a palmitoylation site which results in NefG3C-GFP incorporation into virions greatly exceeding that of the wild type counterpart. Upon induction of 18-4s cells with ponasterone A and sodium butyrate, up to 4 μg/ml of VLPs, which had incorporated about 150 molecules of NefG3C-GFP per viral particle, were released into the culture supernatant. Due to their intrinsic strong fluorescence, the 18-4s VLPs were easily detectable by a novel cytofluorometric-based assay developed here. The treatment of target cells with fluorescent 18-4 VLPs pseudotyped with different glycoprotein receptors resulted in these becoming fluorescent as early as two hours post-challenge. Conclusion We created a stable cell line releasing fluorescent HIV-1 based VLPs upon induction useful for several applications including the study of virus-cell interactions and the screening of antiviral compounds.

A therapeutic HIV vaccine using coxsackie-HIV recombinants: a possible new strategy.

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Halim, S S; Collins, D N; Ramsingh, A I

2000-10-10

The ultimate goal in the treatment of HIV-infected persons is to prevent disease progression. A strategy to accomplish this goal is to use chemotherapy to reduce viral load followed by immunotherapy to stimulate HIV-specific immune responses that are observed in long-term asymptomatic individuals. An effective, live, recombinant virus, expressing HIV sequences, would be capable of inducing both CTL and CD4(+) helper T cell responses. To accomplish these goals, the viral vector must be immunogenic yet retain its avirulent phenotype in a T cell-deficient host. We have identified a coxsackievirus variant, CB4-P, that can induce protective immunity against a virulent variant. In addition, the CB4-P variant remains avirulent in mice lacking CD4(+) helper T cells, suggesting that CB4-P may be uniquely suited as a viral vector for a therapeutic HIV vaccine. Two strategies designed to elicit CTL and CD4(+) helper T cell responses were used to construct CB4-P/HIV recombinants. Recombinant viruses were viable, genetically stable, and retained the avirulent phenotype of the parental virus. In designing a viral vector for vaccine development, an issue that must be addressed is whether preexisting immunity to the vector would affect subsequent administration of the recombinant virus. Using a test recombinant, we showed that prior exposure to the parental CB4-P virus did not affect the ability of the recombinant to induce a CD4(+) T cell response against the foreign sequence. The results suggest that a "cocktail" of coxsackie/HIV recombinants may be useful as a therapeutic HIV vaccine.

Radiosensitization effect of recombinant adenoviral-mediated PUMA gene on pancreatic carcinoma cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Dongming; Zhang Kejun; Li Dechun; Zhu Xuefeng; Yang Yong

2009-01-01

Objective: To study the effect of PUMA gene mediated by recombinant adenovirus vector combined with radiation on the pancreatic carcinoma. Methods: The PANC-1 cells were infected with Ad- PUMA (MOI=10, 50 and 100, respectively) for 48 h. The expression of PUMA mRNA and protein was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. PANC-1 cells were divided into 4 groups: control group, transfection group, irradiation group and combined treatment group. The cell growth inhibition rate and apoptotic rate of PANC-1 cells were assessed by MTT assay and flow cytometry. Human pancreatic carcinomas were transplanted subcutaneously in nude mice, which were randomized into 4 groups: control group, transfection group, irradiation group and combined treatment group. Tumor growth rate and apoptotic index at different time points were recorded in 35 days. Results: The expression of PUMA mRNA and protein was increased with the increase of MOI of Ad-PUMA, which was does-dependant (MOI=10, mRNA=0.46± 0.02, protein=0.75± 0.09; MOI=50, mRNA=1.12±0.09, protein=1.01±0.18; MOI=100, mRNA=1.50±0.08, protein= 1.80±0.15; P 3 , (39.5±9.23)mm 3 , (33.6±10.3)mm 3 and (52.0±11.43)mm 3 , respectively, P<0.05]. And the apoptotic index was increased in the same manner (AI=0.43±0.05, 0.29±0.10, 0.24±0.05 and 0.00±0.00, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions: Recombinant adenoviral-mediated PUMA gene combined with irradiation could increase the cell-killing effect on pancreatic carcinoma. It is better than that of either one kind of therapy. (authors)

Lentiviral vector mediated modification of mesenchymal stem cells & enhanced survival in an in vitro model of ischaemia.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McGinley, Lisa

2012-01-31

INTRODUCTION: A combination of gene and cell therapies has the potential to significantly enhance the therapeutic value of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The development of efficient gene delivery methods is essential if MSCs are to be of benefit using such an approach. Achieving high levels of transgene expression for the required period of time, without adversely affecting cell viability and differentiation capacity, is crucial. In the present study, we investigate lentiviral vector-mediated genetic modification of rat bone-marrow derived MSCs and examine any functional effect of such genetic modification in an in vitro model of ischaemia. METHODS: Transduction efficiency and transgene persistence of second and third generation rHIV-1 based lentiviral vectors were tested using reporter gene constructs. Use of the rHIV-pWPT-EF1-alpha-GFP-W vector was optimised in terms of dose, toxicity, cell species, and storage. The in vivo condition of ischaemia was modelled in vitro by separation into its associated constituent parts i.e. hypoxia, serum and glucose deprivation, in which the effect of therapeutic gene over-expression on MSC survival was investigated. RESULTS: The second generation lentiviral vector rHIV-pWPT-EF1-alpha-GFP-W, was the most efficient and provided the most durable transgene expression of the vectors tested. Transduction with this vector did not adversely affect MSC morphology, viability or differentiation potential, and transgene expression levels were unaffected by cryopreservation of transduced cells. Over-expression of HSP70 resulted in enhanced MSC survival and increased resistance to apoptosis in conditions of hypoxia and ischaemia. MSC differentiation capacity was significantly reduced after oxygen deprivation, but was preserved with HSP70 over-expression. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these data validate the use of lentiviral vectors for efficient in vitro gene delivery to MSCs and suggest that lentiviral vector transduction can facilitate

Lentiviral vector mediated modification of mesenchymal stem cells & enhanced survival in an in vitro model of ischaemia

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McGinley, Lisa

2011-03-07

Abstract Introduction A combination of gene and cell therapies has the potential to significantly enhance the therapeutic value of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The development of efficient gene delivery methods is essential if MSCs are to be of benefit using such an approach. Achieving high levels of transgene expression for the required period of time, without adversely affecting cell viability and differentiation capacity, is crucial. In the present study, we investigate lentiviral vector-mediated genetic modification of rat bone-marrow derived MSCs and examine any functional effect of such genetic modification in an in vitro model of ischaemia. Methods Transduction efficiency and transgene persistence of second and third generation rHIV-1 based lentiviral vectors were tested using reporter gene constructs. Use of the rHIV-pWPT-EF1-α-GFP-W vector was optimised in terms of dose, toxicity, cell species, and storage. The in vivo condition of ischaemia was modelled in vitro by separation into its associated constituent parts i.e. hypoxia, serum and glucose deprivation, in which the effect of therapeutic gene over-expression on MSC survival was investigated. Results The second generation lentiviral vector rHIV-pWPT-EF1-α-GFP-W, was the most efficient and provided the most durable transgene expression of the vectors tested. Transduction with this vector did not adversely affect MSC morphology, viability or differentiation potential, and transgene expression levels were unaffected by cryopreservation of transduced cells. Over-expression of HSP70 resulted in enhanced MSC survival and increased resistance to apoptosis in conditions of hypoxia and ischaemia. MSC differentiation capacity was significantly reduced after oxygen deprivation, but was preserved with HSP70 over-expression. Conclusions Collectively, these data validate the use of lentiviral vectors for efficient in vitro gene delivery to MSCs and suggest that lentiviral vector transduction can facilitate

Trans-dissemination of exosomes from HIV-1-infected cells fosters both HIV-1 trans-infection in resting CD4+ T lymphocytes and reactivation of the HIV-1 reservoir.

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Chiozzini, Chiara; Arenaccio, Claudia; Olivetta, Eleonora; Anticoli, Simona; Manfredi, Francesco; Ferrantelli, Flavia; d'Ettorre, Gabriella; Schietroma, Ivan; Andreotti, Mauro; Federico, Maurizio

2017-09-01

Intact HIV-1 and exosomes can be internalized by dendritic cells (DCs) through a common pathway leading to their transmission to CD4 + T lymphocytes by means of mechanisms defined as trans-infection and trans-dissemination, respectively. We previously reported that exosomes from HIV-1-infected cells activate both uninfected quiescent CD4 + T lymphocytes, which become permissive to HIV-1, and latently infected cells, with release of HIV-1 particles. However, nothing is known about the effects of trans-dissemination of exosomes produced by HIV-1-infected cells on uninfected or latently HIV-1-infected CD4 + T lymphocytes. Here, we report that trans-dissemination of exosomes from HIV-1-infected cells induces cell activation in resting CD4 + T lymphocytes, which appears stronger with mature than immature DCs. Using purified preparations of both HIV-1 and exosomes, we observed that mDC-mediated trans-dissemination of exosomes from HIV-1-infected cells to resting CD4 + T lymphocytes induces efficient trans-infection and HIV-1 expression in target cells. Most relevant, when both mDCs and CD4 + T lymphocytes were isolated from combination anti-retroviral therapy (ART)-treated HIV-1-infected patients, trans-dissemination of exosomes from HIV-1-infected cells led to HIV-1 reactivation from the viral reservoir. In sum, our data suggest a role of exosome trans-dissemination in both HIV-1 spread in the infected host and reactivation of the HIV-1 reservoir.

Ovarian cancer targeted adenoviral-mediated mda-7/IL-24 gene therapy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mahasreshti, PJ; Kataram, M; Wu, HJ; Yalavarthy, LP; Carey, D; Dent, P; Chada, S; Alvarez, RD; Haisma, HJ; Fisher, PB; Curiel, DT

Objective. We have previously shown that adenoviral-mediated melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7 (Ad.mda-7) therapy induces apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. However, the apoptosis induction was low and directly correlated with infectivity of Ad.mda-7. The objective of this study was to

Structure of HIV-1 protease determined by neutron crystallography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adachi, Motoyasu; Kuroki, Ryota

2009-01-01

HIV-1 protease is an aspartic protease, and plays an essential role in replication of HIV. To develop HIV-1 protease inhibitors through structure-based drug design, it is necessary to understand the catalytic mechanism and inhibitor recognition of HIV-1 protease. We have determined the crystal structure of HIV-1 protease in complex with KNI-272 to 1.9 A resolution by neutron crystallography in combination with 1.4 A resolution X-ray diffraction data. The results show that the carbonyl group of hydroxymethylcarbonyl (HMC) in KNI-272 forms a hydrogen bonding interaction with protonated Asp 25 and the hydrogen atom from the hydroxyl group of HMC forms a hydrogen bonding interaction with the deprotonated Asp125. This is the first neutron report for HIV-1/inhibitor complex and shows directly the locations of key hydrogen atoms in catalysis and in the binding of a transition-state analog. The results confirm key aspect of the presumed catalytic mechanism of HIV-1 protease and will aid in the further development of protease inhibitors. (author)

Developing strategies for HIV-1 eradication

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Durand, Christine M.; Blankson, Joel N.; Siliciano, Robert F.

2014-01-01

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) suppresses HIV-1 replication, transforming the outlook for infected patients. However, reservoirs of replication-competent forms of the virus persist during HAART, and when treatment is stopped, high rates of HIV-1 replication return. Recent insights into HIV-1 latency, as well as a report that HIV-1 infection was eradicated in one individual, have renewed interest in finding a cure for HIV-1 infection. Strategies for HIV-1 eradication include gene therapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, stimulating host immunity to control HIV-1 replication, and targeting latent HIV-1 in resting memory CD4+ T cells. Future efforts should aim to provide better understanding of how to reconstitute the CD4+ T cell compartment with genetically engineered cells, exert immune control over HIV-1 replication, and identify and eliminate all viral reservoirs. PMID:22867874

Semen Bacterial Concentrations and HIV-1 RNA Shedding Among HIV-1–Seropositive Kenyan Men

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Srinivasan, Sujatha; Huang, Dandi; Ko, Daisy L.; Sanders, Eduard J.; Peshu, Norbert M.; Krieger, John N.; Muller, Charles H.; Coombs, Robert W.; Fredricks, David N.; Graham, Susan M.

2017-01-01

Introduction: HIV-1 is transmitted through semen from men to their sexual partners. Genital infections can increase HIV-1 RNA shedding in semen, but shedding also occurs in the absence of typical pathogens. We hypothesized that higher bacterial concentrations in semen would be associated with higher HIV-1 RNA levels. Methods: We analyzed semen samples from 42 HIV-1–seropositive Kenyan men using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assess bacterial concentrations and real-time PCR to measure HIV-1 RNA levels. Generalized estimation equations were used to evaluate associations between these 2 measures. Broad-range 16S rRNA gene PCR with pyrosequencing was performed on a subset of 13 samples to assess bacterial community composition. Results: Bacteria were detected in 96.6% of 88 samples by quantitative PCR. Semen bacterial concentration and HIV-1 RNA levels were correlated 0.30 (P = 0.01). The association between bacterial concentration and HIV-1 RNA detection was not significant after adjustment for antiretroviral therapy (ART) (adjusted odds ratio: 1.27, 95% CI: 0.84 to 1.91). Factors associated with semen bacterial concentration included insertive anal sex (adjusted beta 0.92, 95% CI: 0.12 to 1.73) and ART use (adjusted beta: −0.77, 95% CI: −1.50 to 0.04). Among 13 samples with pyrosequencing data, Corynebacterium spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Streptococcus spp. were most frequently detected. Conclusion: Most of these HIV-1–infected men had bacteria in their semen. ART use was associated with undetectable semen HIV-1 RNA and lower semen bacterial concentrations, whereas insertive anal sex was associated with higher bacterial concentrations. Additional studies evaluating the relationship between semen bacteria, inflammation, mucosal immunity, and HIV-1 shedding are needed to understand implications for HIV-1 transmission. PMID:27861240

Increased Risk of HIV-1 Transmission in Pregnancy: A Prospective Study among African HIV-1 Serodiscordant Couples

Science.gov (United States)

MUGO, Nelly R.; HEFFRON, Renee; DONNELL, Deborah; WALD, Anna; WERE, Edwin O.; REES, Helen; CELUM, Connie; KIARIE, James N.; COHEN, Craig R.; KAYINTEKORE, Kayitesi; BAETEN, Jared M.

2011-01-01

Background Physiologic and behavioral changes during pregnancy may alter HIV-1 susceptibility and infectiousness. Prospective studies exploring pregnancy and HIV-1 acquisition risk in women have found inconsistent results. No study has explored the effect of pregnancy on HIV-1 transmission risk from HIV-1 infected women to male partners. Methods In a prospective study of African HIV-1 serodiscordant couples, we evaluated the relationship between pregnancy and the risk of 1) HIV-1 acquisition among women and 2) HIV-1 transmission from women to men. Results 3321 HIV-1 serodiscordant couples were enrolled, 1085 (32.7%) with HIV-1 susceptible female partners and 2236 (67.3%) with susceptible male partners. HIV-1 incidence in women was 7.35 versus 3.01 per 100 person-years during pregnant and non-pregnant periods (hazard ratio [HR] 2.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33–4.09). This effect was attenuated and not statistically significant after adjusting for sexual behavior and other confounding factors (adjusted HR 1.71, 95% CI 0.93–3.12). HIV-1 incidence in male partners of infected women was 3.46 versus 1.58 per 100 person-years when their partners were pregnant versus not pregnant (HR 2.31, 95% CI 1.22–4.39). This effect was not attenuated in adjusted analysis (adjusted HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.26–4.85). Conclusions HIV-1 risk increased two-fold during pregnancy. Elevated risk of HIV-1 acquisition in pregnant women appeared in part to be explained by behavioral and other factors. This is the first study to show pregnancy increased the risk of female-to-male HIV-1 transmission, which may reflect biological changes of pregnancy that could increase HIV-1 infectiousness. PMID:21785321

Molecular Basis for Drug Resistance in HIV-1 Protease

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Celia A. Schiffer

2010-11-01

Full Text Available HIV-1 protease is one of the major antiviral targets in the treatment of patients infected with HIV-1. The nine FDA approved HIV-1 protease inhibitors were developed with extensive use of structure-based drug design, thus the atomic details of how the inhibitors bind are well characterized. From this structural understanding the molecular basis for drug resistance in HIV-1 protease can be elucidated. Selected mutations in response to therapy and diversity between clades in HIV-1 protease have altered the shape of the active site, potentially altered the dynamics and even altered the sequence of the cleavage sites in the Gag polyprotein. All of these interdependent changes act in synergy to confer drug resistance while simultaneously maintaining the fitness of the virus. New strategies, such as incorporation of the substrate envelope constraint to design robust inhibitors that incorporate details of HIV-1 protease’s function and decrease the probability of drug resistance, are necessary to continue to effectively target this key protein in HIV-1 life cycle.

Phase 1 safety and immunogenicity evaluation of ADMVA, a multigenic, modified vaccinia Ankara-HIV-1 B'/C candidate vaccine.

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Sandhya Vasan

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: We conducted a Phase I dose-escalation trial of ADMVA, a Clade-B'/C-based HIV-1 candidate vaccine expressing env, gag, pol, nef, and tat in a modified vaccinia Ankara viral vector. Sequences were derived from a prevalent circulating HIV-1 recombinant form in Yunnan, China, an area of high HIV incidence. The objective was to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of ADMVA in human volunteers. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: ADMVA or placebo was administered intramuscularly at months 0, 1 and 6 to 50 healthy adult volunteers not at high risk for HIV-1. In each dosage group [1x10(7 (low, 5x10(7 (mid, or 2.5x10(8 pfu (high] volunteers were randomized in a 3:1 ratio to receive ADMVA or placebo in a double-blinded design. Subjects were followed for local and systemic reactogenicity, adverse events including cardiac adverse events, and clinical laboratory parameters. Study follow up was 18 months. Humoral immunogenicity was evaluated by anti-gp120 binding ELISA, immunoflourescent staining, and HIV-1 neutralization. Cellular immunogenicity was assessed by a validated IFNgamma ELISpot assay and intracellular cytokine staining. Anti-vaccinia binding titers were measured by ELISA. ADMVA was generally well-tolerated, with no vaccine-related serious adverse events or cardiac adverse events. Local or systemic reactogenicity events were reported by 77% and 78% of volunteers, respectively. The majority of events were of mild intensity. The IFNgamma ELISpot response rate to any HIV antigen was 0/12 (0% in the placebo group, 3/12 (25% in the low dosage group, 6/12 (50% in the mid dosage group, and 8/13 (62% in the high dosage group. Responses were often multigenic and occasionally persisted up to one year post vaccination. Antibodies to gp120 were detected in 0/12 (0%, 8/13 (62%, 6/12 (50% and 10/13 (77% in the placebo, low, mid, and high dosage groups, respectively. Antibodies persisted up to 12 months after vaccination, with a trend toward agreement

Optimization of a multi-gene HIV-1 recombinant subtype CRF02AG DNA vaccine for expression of multiple immunogenic forms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellenberger, Dennis; Li Bin; Smith, James; Yi Hong; Folks, Thomas; Robinson, Harriet; Butera, Salvatore

2004-01-01

We developed an AIDS vaccine for Western and West-Central Africa based on a DNA plasmid vector expressing HIV-1 recombinant subtype CRF02 A G gag, pol, and env genes. To optimize the production of noninfectious HIV-like particles (VLPs) and potentially improve the effectiveness of the vaccine, we generated four potential vaccine constructs: the parental (IC2) and three modifications (IC25, IC48, and IC90) containing mutations within the HIV protease. While the parental construct IC2 expressed aggregates of Gag proteins, the IC25 construct resulted in the production of immature VLPs (the core comprises unprocessed Pr 55Gag ). The remaining two constructs (IC48 and IC90) produced mature VLPs (the core comprises processed capsid p24) in addition to immature VLPs and aggregates of Gag proteins. VLPs incorporated significant levels of mature gp120 envelope glycoprotein. Importantly, the mature VLPs were fusion competent and entered coreceptor-specific target cells. The production of multiple antigenic forms, including fusion-competent VLPs, by candidate DNA vaccine constructs may provide immunologic advantages for induction of protective cellular and humoral responses against HIV-1 proteins

Comparative 1H NMR-based metabonomic analysis of HIV-1 sera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Philippeos, C.; Steffens, F. E.; Meyer, D.

2009-01-01

1 H NMR spectroscopy of sera from HIV-1 infected and uninfected individuals was performed on 300 and 600 MHz instruments. The resultant spectra were automatically data reduced to 90 and 180 integral segments of equal length. Analysis of variance identified significant differences between the sample groups, especially for the samples analyzed on 600 MHz and reduced to fewer segments. Linear discriminant analysis correctly classified 100% of the samples analyzed on the 300 MHz NMR (reduced to 180 segments); an increase in instrument sensitivity resulted in lower percentages of correctly classified samples. Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) resulted in 100% correct classification of all samples from both instruments. Thus 1 H-NMR metabonomics on either instrument distinguishes HIV-positive individuals using or not using anti retroviral therapy, but the sensitivity of the instrument impacts on data reduction. Furthermore, MLR is a novel multivariate statistical technique for improved classification of biological data analyzed in NMR

Molecular Imaging of Gene Expression and Efficacy following Adenoviral-Mediated Brain Tumor Gene Therapy

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Alnawaz Rehemtulla

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Cancer gene therapy is an active area of research relying upon the transfer and subsequent expression of a therapeutic transgene into tumor cells in order to provide for therapeutic selectivity. Noninvasive assessment of therapeutic response and correlation of the location, magnitude, and duration of transgene expression in vivo would be particularly useful in the development of cancer gene therapy protocols by facilitating optimization of gene transfer protocols, vector development, and prodrug dosing schedules. In this study, we developed an adenoviral vector containing both the therapeutic transgene yeast cytosine deaminase (yCD along with an optical reporter gene (luciferase. Following intratumoral injection of the vector into orthotopic 9L gliomas, anatomical and diffusion-weighted MR images were obtained over time in order to provide for quantitative assessment of overall therapeutic efficacy and spatial heterogeneity of cell kill, respectively. In addition, bioluminescence images were acquired to assess the duration and magnitude of gene expression. MR images revealed significant reduction in tumor growth rates associated with yCD/5-fluorocytosine (5FC gene therapy. Significant increases in mean tumor diffusion values were also observed during treatment with 5FC. Moreover, spatial heterogeneity in tumor diffusion changes were also observed revealing that diffusion magnetic resonance imaging could detect regional therapeutic effects due to the nonuniform delivery and/or expression of the therapeutic yCD transgene within the tumor mass. In addition, in vivo bioluminescence imaging detected luciferase gene expression, which was found to decrease over time during administration of the prodrug providing a noninvasive surrogate marker for monitoring gene expression. These results demonstrate the efficacy of the yCD/5FC strategy for the treatment of brain tumors and reveal the feasibility of using multimodality molecular and functional imaging

Plant-based anti-HIV-1 strategies: vaccine molecules and antiviral approaches.

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Scotti, Nunzia; Buonaguro, Luigi; Tornesello, Maria Lina; Cardi, Teodoro; Buonaguro, Franco Maria

2010-08-01

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy has drastically changed HIV infection from an acute, very deadly, to a chronic, long-lasting, mild disease. However, this requires continuous care management, which is difficult to implement worldwide, especially in developing countries. Sky-rocketing costs of HIV-positive subjects and the limited success of preventive recommendations mean that a vaccine is urgently needed, which could be the only effective strategy for the real control of the AIDS pandemic. To be effective, vaccination will need to be accessible, affordable and directed against multiple antigens. Plant-based vaccines, which are easy to produce and administer, and require no cold chain for their heat stability are, in principle, suited to such a strategy. More recently, it has been shown that even highly immunogenic, enveloped plant-based vaccines can be produced at a competitive and more efficient rate than conventional strategies. The high variability of HIV epitopes and the need to stimulate both humoral neutralizing antibodies and cellular immunity suggest the importance of using the plant system: it offers a wide range of possible strategies, from single-epitope to multicomponent vaccines, modulators of the immune response (adjuvants) and preventive molecules (microbicides), either alone or in association with plant-derived monoclonal antibodies, besides the potential use of the latter as therapeutic agents. Furthermore, plant-based anti-HIV strategies can be administered not only parenterally but also by the more convenient and safer oral route, which is a more suitable approach for possible mass vaccination.

A rapid generation of adenovirus vector with a genetic modification in hexon protein.

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Di, Bingyan; Mao, Qinwen; Zhao, Junli; Li, Xing; Wang, Dongyang; Xia, Haibin

2012-02-10

The generation of hexon-modified adenovirus vector has proven difficult. In this paper, we developed a novel method for rapid generation of hexon-modified adenoviral vector via one step ligation in vitro followed by quick white/blue color screening. The new system has the following features. First, eGFP expression driven by the CMV promoter in E1 region functions as a reporter to evaluate the tropism of hexon-modified adenovirus in vitro. Second, it has two unique restriction enzyme sites with sticky ends located in the hexon HVR5 region. Third, a lacZ expression cassette under the control of plac promoter is placed between the two restriction enzyme sites, which allows recombinants to be selected using blue/white screening. To prove the principle of the method, genetically modified adenoviruses were successfully produced by insertion of NGR, RGD or Tat PTD peptide into hexon HVR5. Furthermore, the transduction efficiency of the Tat PTD modified virus was shown to be a significant enhancement in A172 and CHO-K1 cells. In conclusion, the novel system makes the production of truly retargeted vectors more promising, which would be of substantial benefit for cancer gene therapy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dolutegravir reshapes the genetic diversity of HIV-1 reservoirs.

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Gantner, Pierre; Lee, Guinevere Q; Rey, David; Mesplede, Thibault; Partisani, Marialuisa; Cheneau, Christine; Beck-Wirth, Geneviève; Faller, Jean-Pierre; Mohseni-Zadeh, Mahsa; Martinot, Martin; Wainberg, Mark A; Fafi-Kremer, Samira

2018-04-01

Better understanding of the dynamics of HIV reservoirs under ART is a critical step to achieve a functional HIV cure. Our objective was to assess the genetic diversity of archived HIV-1 DNA over 48 weeks in blood cells of individuals starting treatment with a dolutegravir-based regimen. Eighty blood samples were prospectively and longitudinally collected from 20 individuals (NCT02557997) including: acutely (n = 5) and chronically (n = 5) infected treatment-naive individuals, as well as treatment-experienced individuals who switched to a dolutegravir-based regimen and were either virologically suppressed (n = 5) or had experienced treatment failure (n = 5). The integrase and V3 loop regions of HIV-1 DNA isolated from PBMCs were analysed by pyrosequencing at baseline and weeks 4, 24 and 48. HIV-1 genetic diversity was calculated using Shannon entropy. All individuals achieved or maintained viral suppression throughout the study. A low and stable genetic diversity of archived HIV quasispecies was observed in individuals starting treatment during acute infection. A dramatic reduction of the genetic diversity was observed at week 4 of treatment in the other individuals. In these patients and despite virological suppression, a recovery of the genetic diversity of the reservoirs was observed up to 48 weeks. Viral variants bearing dolutegravir resistance-associated substitutions at integrase position 50, 124, 230 or 263 were detected in five individuals (n = 5/20, 25%) from all groups except those who were ART-failing at baseline. None of these substitutions led to virological failure. These data demonstrate that the genetic diversity of the HIV-1 reservoir is reshaped following the initiation of a dolutegravir-based regimen and strongly suggest that HIV-1 can continue to replicate despite successful treatment.

Determination of HIV-1 co-receptor usage.

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Cavarelli, Mariangela; Scarlatti, Gabriella

2014-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) infects target cells through interaction with the CD4 molecule and chemokine receptors, mainly the β-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) and the α-chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). Viral isolates can be phenotypically classified based on the co-receptor they utilize to infect target cells. In this chapter, methods to determine the co-receptor usage of HIV-1 variants are described.

First-in-Human Evaluation of the Safety and Immunogenicity of an Intranasally Administered Replication-Competent Sendai Virus–Vectored HIV Type 1 Gag Vaccine: Induction of Potent T-Cell or Antibody Responses in Prime-Boost Regimens

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Nyombayire, Julien; Anzala, Omu; Gazzard, Brian; Karita, Etienne; Bergin, Philip; Hayes, Peter; Kopycinski, Jakub; Omosa-Manyonyi, Gloria; Jackson, Akil; Bizimana, Jean; Farah, Bashir; Sayeed, Eddy; Parks, Christopher L.; Inoue, Makoto; Hironaka, Takashi; Hara, Hiroto; Shu, Tsugumine; Matano, Tetsuro; Dally, Len; Barin, Burc; Park, Harriet; Gilmour, Jill; Lombardo, Angela; Excler, Jean-Louis; Fast, Patricia; Laufer, Dagna S.; Cox, Josephine H.

2017-01-01

Background. We report the first-in-human safety and immunogenicity assessment of a prototype intranasally administered, replication-competent Sendai virus (SeV)–vectored, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine. Methods. Sixty-five HIV-1–uninfected adults in Kenya, Rwanda, and the United Kingdom were assigned to receive 1 of 4 prime-boost regimens (administered at 0 and 4 months, respectively; ratio of vaccine to placebo recipients, 12:4): priming with a lower-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally, followed by boosting with an adenovirus 35–vectored vaccine encoding HIV-1 Gag, reverse transcriptase, integrase, and Nef (Ad35-GRIN) given intramuscularly (SLA); priming with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally, followed by boosting with Ad35-GRIN given intramuscularly (SHA); priming with Ad35-GRIN given intramuscularly, followed by boosting with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally (ASH); and priming and boosting with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally (SHSH). Results. All vaccine regimens were well tolerated. Gag-specific IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot–determined response rates and geometric mean responses were higher (96% and 248 spot-forming units, respectively) in groups primed with SeV-Gag and boosted with Ad35-GRIN (SLA and SHA) than those after a single dose of Ad35-GRIN (56% and 54 spot-forming units, respectively) or SeV-Gag (55% and 59 spot-forming units, respectively); responses persisted for ≥8 months after completion of the prime-boost regimen. Functional CD8+ T-cell responses with greater breadth, magnitude, and frequency in a viral inhibition assay were also seen in the SLA and SHA groups after Ad35-GRIN boost, compared with those who received either vaccine alone. SeV-Gag did not boost T-cell counts in the ASH group. In contrast, the highest Gag-specific antibody titers were seen in the ASH group. Mucosal antibody responses were sporadic. Conclusions. SeV-Gag primed functional, durable HIV-specific T

Microfluidic Chip-based Nucleic Acid Testing using Gingival Crevicular Fluid as a New Technique for Detecting HIV-1 Infection

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Alex Willyandre

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Transmission of HIV-1 infection by individuals in window period who are tested negative in conventional HIV-1 detection would pose the community with serious problems. Several diagnostic tools require specific labora-tory equipment, perfect timing of diagnosis, antibody to HIV-1, and invasive technique to get sample for examination, until high amount of time to process the sample as well as accessibility of remote areas. Many attempts have been made to solve those problems to come to a new detection technique. This review aims to give information about the current development technique for detection of HIV infection. Microfluidic Chip-based Nucleic Acid Testing is currently introduced for detection of HIV-1 infection. This review also cover the possible usage of gingival crevicular fluid as sample specimen that could be taken noninvasively from the individual.DOI: 10.14693/jdi.v18i2.63

Gene delivery to pancreatic exocrine cells in vivo and in vitro

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Houbracken Isabelle

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Effective gene transfer to the pancreas or to pancreatic cells has remained elusive although it is essential for studies of genetic lineage tracing and modulation of gene expression. Different transduction methods and viral vectors were tested in vitro and in vivo, in rat and mouse pancreas. Results For in vitro transfection/transduction of rat exocrine cells lipofection reagents, adenoviral vectors, and Mokola- and VSV-G pseudotyped lentiviral vectors were used. For in vivo transduction of mouse and rat pancreas adenoviral vectors and VSV-G lentiviral vectors were injected into the parenchymal tissue. Both lipofection of rat exocrine cell cultures and transduction with Mokola pseudotyped lentiviral vectors were inefficient and resulted in less than 4% EGFP expressing cells. Adenoviral transduction was highly efficient but its usefulness for gene delivery to rat exocrine cells in vitro was hampered by a drastic increase in cell death. In vitro transduction of rat exocrine cells was most optimal with VSV-G pseudotyped lentiviral vectors, with stable transgene expression, no significant effect on cell survival and about 40% transduced cells. In vivo, pancreatic cells could not be transduced by intra-parenchymal administration of lentiviral vectors in mouse and rat pancreas. However, a high efficiency could be obtained by adenoviral vectors, resulting in transient transduction of mainly exocrine acinar cells. Injection in immune-deficient animals diminished leukocyte infiltration and prolonged transgene expression. Conclusions In summary, our study remarkably demonstrates that transduction of pancreatic exocrine cells requires lentiviral vectors in vitro but adenoviral vectors in vivo.

Hyperthermia stimulates HIV-1 replication.

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Ferdinand Roesch

Full Text Available HIV-infected individuals may experience fever episodes. Fever is an elevation of the body temperature accompanied by inflammation. It is usually beneficial for the host through enhancement of immunological defenses. In cultures, transient non-physiological heat shock (42-45°C and Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs modulate HIV-1 replication, through poorly defined mechanisms. The effect of physiological hyperthermia (38-40°C on HIV-1 infection has not been extensively investigated. Here, we show that culturing primary CD4+ T lymphocytes and cell lines at a fever-like temperature (39.5°C increased the efficiency of HIV-1 replication by 2 to 7 fold. Hyperthermia did not facilitate viral entry nor reverse transcription, but increased Tat transactivation of the LTR viral promoter. Hyperthermia also boosted HIV-1 reactivation in a model of latently-infected cells. By imaging HIV-1 transcription, we further show that Hsp90 co-localized with actively transcribing provirus, and this phenomenon was enhanced at 39.5°C. The Hsp90 inhibitor 17-AAG abrogated the increase of HIV-1 replication in hyperthermic cells. Altogether, our results indicate that fever may directly stimulate HIV-1 replication, in a process involving Hsp90 and facilitation of Tat-mediated LTR activity.

Acyclovir and Transmission of HIV-1 from Persons Infected with HIV-1 and HSV-2

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Celum, Connie; Wald, Anna; Lingappa, Jairam R.; Magaret, Amalia S.; Wang, Richard S.; Mugo, Nelly; Mujugira, Andrew; Baeten, Jared M.; Mullins, James I.; Hughes, James P.; Bukusi, Elizabeth A.; Cohen, Craig R.; Katabira, Elly; Ronald, Allan; Kiarie, James; Farquhar, Carey; Stewart, Grace John; Makhema, Joseph; Essex, Myron; Were, Edwin; Fife, Kenneth H.; de Bruyn, Guy; Gray, Glenda E.; McIntyre, James A.; Manongi, Rachel; Kapiga, Saidi; Coetzee, David; Allen, Susan; Inambao, Mubiana; Kayitenkore, Kayitesi; Karita, Etienne; Kanweka, William; Delany, Sinead; Rees, Helen; Vwalika, Bellington; Stevens, Wendy; Campbell, Mary S.; Thomas, Katherine K.; Coombs, Robert W.; Morrow, Rhoda; Whittington, William L.H.; McElrath, M. Juliana; Barnes, Linda; Ridzon, Renee; Corey, Lawrence

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND Most persons who are infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are also infected with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), which is frequently reactivated and is associated with increased plasma and genital levels of HIV-1. Therapy to suppress HSV-2 reduces the frequency of reactivation of HSV-2 as well as HIV-1 levels, suggesting that suppression of HSV-2 may reduce the risk of transmission of HIV-1. METHODS We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of suppressive therapy for HSV-2 (acyclovir at a dose of 400 mg orally twice daily) in couples in which only one of the partners was seropositive for HIV-1 (CD4 count, ≥250 cells per cubic millimeter) and that partner was also infected with HSV-2 and was not taking antiretroviral therapy at the time of enrollment. The primary end point was transmission of HIV-1 to the partner who was not initially infected with HIV-1; linkage of transmissions was assessed by means of genetic sequencing of viruses. RESULTS A total of 3408 couples were enrolled at 14 sites in Africa. Of the partners who were infected with HIV-1, 68% were women, and the baseline median CD4 count was 462 cells per cubic millimeter. Of 132 HIV-1 seroconversions that occurred after randomization (an incidence of 2.7 per 100 person-years), 84 were linked within couples by viral sequencing: 41 in the acyclovir group and 43 in the placebo group (hazard ratio with acyclovir, 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60 to 1.41; P = 0.69). Suppression with acyclovir reduced the mean plasma concentration of HIV-1 by 0.25 log10 copies per milliliter (95% CI, 0.22 to 0.29; P<0.001) and the occurrence of HSV-2–positive genital ulcers by 73% (risk ratio, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.36; P<0.001). A total of 92% of the partners infected with HIV-1 and 84% of the partners not infected with HIV-1 remained in the study for 24 months. The level of adherence to the dispensed study drug was 96%. No serious adverse events related to acyclovir

Anti-gp120 minibody gene transfer to female genital epithelial cells protects against HIV-1 virus challenge in vitro.

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Ussama M Abdel-Motal

Full Text Available Although cervico-vaginal epithelial cells of the female lower genital tract provide the initial defense system against HIV-1 infection, the protection is sometimes incomplete. Thus, enhancing anti-HIV-1 humoral immunity at the mucosal cell surface by local expression of anti-HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies (BnAb that block HIV-1 entry would provide an important new intervention that could slow the spread of HIV/AIDS.This study tested the hypothesis that adeno-associated virus (AAV-BnAb gene transfer to cervico-vaginal epithelial cells will lead to protection against HIV-1. Accordingly, a recombinant AAV vector that encodes human b12 anti-HIV gp120 BnAb as a single-chain variable fragment Fc fusion (scFvFc, or "minibody" was constructed. The secreted b12 minibody was shown to be biologically functional in binding to virus envelope protein, neutralizing HIV-1 and importantly, blocking transfer and infectivity of HIV-1(bal in an organotypic human vaginal epithelial cell (VEC model. Furthermore, cervico-vaginal epithelial stem cells were found to be efficiently transduced by the optimal AAV serotype mediated expression of GFP.This study provides the foundation for a novel microbicide strategy to protect against sexual transmission of HIV-1 by AAV transfer of broadly neutralizing antibody genes to cervico-vaginal epithelial stem cells that could replenish b12 BnAb secreting cells through multiple menstrual cycles.

Characterization of natural polymorphic sites of the HIV-1 integrase before the introduction of HIV-1 integrase inhibitors in Germany

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Meixenberger, Karolin; Pouran Yousef, Kaveh; Somogyi, Sybille; Fiedler, Stefan; Bartmeyer, Barbara; von Kleist, Max; Kücherer, Claudia

2014-01-01

Introduction The aim of our study was to analyze the occurrence and evolution of HIV-1 integrase polymorphisms during the HIV-1 epidemic in Germany prior to the introduction of the first integrase inhibitor raltegravir in 2007. Materials and Methods Plasma samples from drug-naïve HIV-1 infected individuals newly diagnosed between 1986 and 2006 were used to determine PCR-based population sequences of the HIV-1 integrase (amino acids 1–278). The HIV-1 subtype was determined using the REGA HIV-1 subtyping tool. We calculated the frequency of amino acids at each position of the HIV-1 integrase in 337 subtype B strains for the time periods 1986–1989, 1991–1994, 1995–1998, 1999–2002, and 2003–2006. Positions were defined as polymorphic if amino acid variation was >1% in any period. Logistic regression was used to identify trends in amino acid variation over time. Resistance-associated mutations were identified according to the IAS 2013 list and the HIVdb, ANRS and GRADE algorithms. Results Overall, 56.8% (158/278) amino acid positions were polymorphic and 15.8% (25/158) of these positions exhibited a significant trend in amino acid variation over time. Proportionately, most polymorphic positions (63.3%, 31/49) were detected in the N-terminal zinc finger domain of the HIV-1 integrase. Motifs and residues essential for HIV-1 integrase activity were little polymorphic, but within the minimal non-specific DNA binding region I220-D270 up to 18.1% amino acid variation was noticed, including four positions with significant amino acid variation over time (S230, D232, D256, A265). No major resistance mutations were identified, and minor resistance mutations were rarely observed without trend over time. E157Q considered by HIVdb, ANRS, and GRADE algorithms was the most frequent resistance-associated polymorphism with an overall prevalence of 2.4%. Conclusions Detailed knowledge of the evolutionary variation of HIV-1 integrase polymorphisms is important to understand

Lysyl Oxidase-Like 1 Protein Deficiency Protects Mice from Adenoviral Transforming Growth Factor-β1-induced Pulmonary Fibrosis.

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Bellaye, Pierre-Simon; Shimbori, Chiko; Upagupta, Chandak; Sato, Seidai; Shi, Wei; Gauldie, Jack; Ask, Kjetil; Kolb, Martin

2018-04-01

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) in the lung parenchyma. The abnormal ECM deposition slowly overtakes normal lung tissue, disturbing gas exchange and leading to respiratory failure and death. ECM cross-linking and subsequent stiffening is thought to be a major contributor of disease progression and also promotes the activation of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, one of the main profibrotic growth factors. Lysyl oxidase-like (LOXL) 1 belongs to the cross-linking enzyme family and has been shown to be up-regulated in active fibrotic regions of bleomycin-treated mice and patients with IPF. We demonstrate in this study that LOXL1-deficient mice are protected from experimental lung fibrosis induced by overexpression of TGF-β1 using adenoviral (Ad) gene transfer (AdTGF-β1). The lack of LOXL1 prevented accumulation of insoluble cross-linked collagen in the lungs, and therefore limited lung stiffness after AdTGF-β1. In addition, we applied mechanical stretch to lung slices from LOXL1 +/+ and LOXL1 -/- mice treated with AdTGF-β1. Lung stiffness (Young's modulus) of LOXL1 -/- lung slices was significantly lower compared with LOXL1 +/+ lung slices. Moreover, the release of activated TGF-β1 after mechanical stretch was significantly lower in LOXL1 -/- mice compared with LOXL1 +/+ mice after AdTGF-β1. These data support the concept that cross-linking enzyme inhibition represents an interesting therapeutic target for drug development in IPF.

Pre-existing adenovirus immunity modifies a complex mixed Th1 and Th2 cytokine response to an Ad5/HIV-1 vaccine candidate in humans.

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Samuel O Pine

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The results of the recent Step Study highlight a need to clarify the effects of pre-existing natural immunity to a vaccine vector on vaccine-induced T-cell responses. To investigate this interaction, we examined the relationship between pre-existing Ad5 immunity and T-cell cytokine response profiles in healthy, HIV-uninfected recipients of MRKAd5 HIV-1 gag vaccine (HVTN 050, ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT00849732. Participants were grouped by baseline Ad5 neutralizing antibody titer as either Ad5-seronegative (titer ≤18; n = 36 or Ad5-seropositive (titer >200; n = 34. Samples from vaccine recipients were analyzed for immune responses to either HIV-1 Gag peptide pools or Ad5 empty vector using an ex vivo assay that measures thirty cytokines in the absence of long-term culture. The overall profiles of cytokine responses to Gag and Ad5 had similar combinations of induced Th1- and Th2-type cytokines, including IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α, IP-10, IL-13, and IL-10, although the Ad5-specific responses were uniformly higher than the Gag-specific responses (p<0.0001 for 9 out of 11 significantly expressed analytes. At the peak response time point, PBMC from Ad5-seronegative vaccinees secreted significantly more IP-10 in response to Gag (p = 0.008, and significantly more IP-10 (p = 0.0009, IL-2 (p = 0.006 and IL-10 (p = 0.05 in response to Ad5 empty vector than PBMC from Ad5-seropositive vaccinees. Additionally, similar responses to the Ad5 vector prior to vaccination were observed in almost all subjects, regardless of Ad5 neutralizing antibody status, and the levels of secreted IFN-γ, IL-10, IL-1Ra and GM-CSF were blunted following vaccination. The cytokine response profile of Gag-specific T cells mirrored the Ad5-specific response present in all subjects before vaccination, and included a number of Th1- and Th2-associated cytokines not routinely assessed in current vaccine trials, such as IP-10, IL-10, IL-13, and GM-CSF. Together, these

Evaluation of sequence ambiguities of the HIV-1 pol gene as a method to identify recent HIV-1 infection in transmitted drug resistance surveys.

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Andersson, Emmi; Shao, Wei; Bontell, Irene; Cham, Fatim; Cuong, Do Duy; Wondwossen, Amogne; Morris, Lynn; Hunt, Gillian; Sönnerborg, Anders; Bertagnolio, Silvia; Maldarelli, Frank; Jordan, Michael R

2013-08-01

Identification of recent HIV infection within populations is a public health priority for accurate estimation of HIV incidence rates and transmitted drug resistance at population level. Determining HIV incidence rates by prospective follow-up of HIV-uninfected individuals is challenging and serological assays have important limitations. HIV diversity within an infected host increases with duration of infection. We explore a simple bioinformatics approach to assess viral diversity by determining the percentage of ambiguous base calls in sequences derived from standard genotyping of HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase. Sequences from 691 recently infected (≤1 year) and chronically infected (>1 year) individuals from Sweden, Vietnam and Ethiopia were analyzed for ambiguity. A significant difference (p<0.0001) in the proportion of ambiguous bases was observed between sequences from individuals with recent and chronic infection in both HIV-1 subtype B and non-B infection, consistent with previous studies. In our analysis, a cutoff of <0.47% ambiguous base calls identified recent infection with a sensitivity and specificity of 88.8% and 74.6% respectively. 1,728 protease and reverse transcriptase sequences from 36 surveys of transmitted HIV drug resistance performed following World Health Organization guidance were analyzed for ambiguity. The 0.47% ambiguity cutoff was applied and survey sequences were classified as likely derived from recently or chronically infected individuals. 71% of patients were classified as likely to have been infected within one year of genotyping but results varied considerably amongst surveys. This bioinformatics approach may provide supporting population-level information to identify recent infection but its application is limited by infection with more than one viral variant, decreasing viral diversity in advanced disease and technical aspects of population based sequencing. Standardization of sequencing techniques and base calling

Methamphetamine inhibits HIV-1 replication in CD4+ T cells by modulating anti-HIV-1 miRNA expression.

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Mantri, Chinmay K; Mantri, Jyoti V; Pandhare, Jui; Dash, Chandravanu

2014-01-01

Methamphetamine is the second most frequently used illicit drug in the United States. Methamphetamine abuse is associated with increased risk of HIV-1 acquisition, higher viral loads, and enhanced HIV-1 pathogenesis. Although a direct link between methamphetamine abuse and HIV-1 pathogenesis remains to be established in patients, methamphetamine has been shown to increase HIV-1 replication in macrophages, dendritic cells, and cells of HIV transgenic mice. Intriguingly, the effects of methamphetamine on HIV-1 replication in human CD4(+) T cells that serve as the primary targets of infection in vivo are not clearly understood. Therefore, we examined HIV-1 replication in primary CD4(+) T cells in the presence of methamphetamine in a dose-dependent manner. Our results demonstrate that methamphetamine had a minimal effect on HIV-1 replication at concentrations of 1 to 50 μmol/L. However, at concentrations >100 μmol/L, it inhibited HIV-1 replication in a dose-dependent manner. We also discovered that methamphetamine up-regulated the cellular anti-HIV-1 microRNAs (miR-125b, miR-150, and miR-28-5p) in CD4(+) T cells. Knockdown experiments illustrated that up-regulation of the anti-HIV miRNAs inhibited HIV-1 replication. These results are contrary to the paradigm that methamphetamine accentuates HIV-1 pathogenesis by increasing HIV-1 replication. Therefore, our findings underline the complex interaction between drug use and HIV-1 and necessitate comprehensive understanding of the effects of methamphetamine on HIV-1 pathogenesis. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

HIV-1 viral load measurement in venous blood and fingerprick blood using Abbott RealTime HIV-1 DBS assay.

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Tang, Ning; Pahalawatta, Vihanga; Frank, Andrea; Bagley, Zowie; Viana, Raquel; Lampinen, John; Leckie, Gregor; Huang, Shihai; Abravaya, Klara; Wallis, Carole L

2017-07-01

HIV RNA suppression is a key indicator for monitoring success of antiretroviral therapy. From a logistical perspective, viral load (VL) testing using Dried Blood Spots (DBS) is a promising alternative to plasma based VL testing in resource-limited settings. To evaluate the analytical and clinical performance of the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay using a fully automated one-spot DBS sample protocol. Limit of detection (LOD), linearity, lower limit of quantitation (LLQ), upper limit of quantitation (ULQ), and precision were determined using serial dilutions of HIV-1 Virology Quality Assurance stock (VQA Rush University), or HIV-1-containing armored RNA, made in venous blood. To evaluate correlation, bias, and agreement, 497 HIV-1 positive adult clinical samples were collected from Ivory Coast, Uganda and South Africa. For each HIV-1 participant, DBS-fingerprick, DBS-venous and plasma sample results were compared. Correlation and bias values were obtained. The sensitivity and specificity were analyzed at a threshold of 1000 HIV-1 copies/mL generated using the standard plasma protocol. The Abbott HIV-1 DBS protocol had an LOD of 839 copies/mL, a linear range from 500 to 1×10 7 copies/mL, an LLQ of 839 copies/mL, a ULQ of 1×10 7 copies/mL, and an inter-assay SD of ≤0.30 log copies/mL for all tested levels within this range. With clinical samples, the correlation coefficient (r value) was 0.896 between DBS-fingerprick and plasma and 0.901 between DBS-venous and plasma, and the bias was -0.07 log copies/mL between DBS-fingerprick and plasma and -0.02 log copies/mL between DBS-venous and plasma. The sensitivity of DBS-fingerprick and DBS-venous was 93%, while the specificity of both DBS methods was 95%. The results demonstrated that the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay with DBS sample protocol is highly sensitive, specific and precise across a wide dynamic range and correlates well with plasma values. The Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay with DBS sample protocol provides an

Malaria Prevention by New Technology: Vectored Delivery of Antibody Genes

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2017-10-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0401 TITLE: Malaria Prevention by New Technology : Vectored Delivery of Antibody Genes PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Gary...CONTRACT NUMBER Malaria Prevention by New Technology : Vectored Delivery of Antibody Genes 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-15-1-0401 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT...whole animals. Using a specific technology originally applied to expression of HIV antibodies, we demonstrated that mice can be protected from

HIV-1 genetic diversity and its distribution characteristics among newly diagnosed HIV-1 individuals in Hebei province, China.

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Lu, Xinli; Zhao, Cuiying; Wang, Wei; Nie, Chenxi; Zhang, Yuqi; Zhao, Hongru; Chen, Suliang; Cui, Ze

2016-01-01

Since the first HIV-1 case in 1989, Hebei province has presented a clearly rising trend of HIV-1 prevalence, and HIV-1 genetic diversity has become the vital barrier to HIV prevention and control in this area. To obtain detailed information of HIV-1 spread in different populations and in different areas of Hebei, a cross-sectional HIV-1 molecular epidemiological investigation was performed across the province. Blood samples of 154 newly diagnosed HIV-1 individuals were collected from ten prefectures in Hebei using stratified sampling. Partial gag and env genes were amplified and sequenced. HIV-1 genotypes were identified by phylogenetic tree analyses. Among the 139 subjects genotyped, six HIV-1 subtypes were identified successfully, including subtype B (41.0 %), CRF01_AE (40.3 %), CRF07_BC (11.5 %), CRF08_BC (4.3 %), unique recombinant forms (URFs) (1.4 %) and subtype C (1.4 %). Subtype B was identified as the most frequent subtype. Two URF recombination patterns were the same as CRF01_AE/B. HIV-1 genotype distribution showed a significant statistical difference in different demographic characteristics, such as source (P  0.05). The differences in HIV-1 genotype distribution were closely associated with transmission routes. Particularly, all six subtype strains were found in heterosexuals, showing that HIV-1 has spread from the high-risk populations to the general populations in Hebei, China. In addition, CRF01_AE instead of subtype B has become the major strain of HIV-1 infection among homosexuals. Our study revealed HIV-1 evolution and genotype distribution by investigating newly diagnosed HIV-1 individuals in Hebei, China. This study provides important information to enhance the strategic plan for HIV prevention and control in China.

Isolation of proteins involved in the replication of adenoviral DNA in vitro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lichy, J.H.; Nagata, K.; Friefeld, B.R.; Enomoto, T.; Field, J.; Guggenheimer, R.A.; Ikeda, J.E.; Horwitz, M.S.; Hurwitz, J.

1983-01-01

The simple mechanism of replication of adenoviral DNA has made adenovirus an especially useful model system for studies of eukaryotic replication mechanisms. The availability of this in vitro system that replicates exogenously added Ad DNA-pro has made it possible to characterize the factors involved in replication. The results presented in this paper summarize our further fractionation of the in vitro system. First, the properties of two factors purified from the uninfected nuclear extract are described. Second, the separation of the pTP/Ad Pol complex into subunits and the properties of the isolated subunits are presented. The 140K protein is shown to possess the Ad DNA polymerase activity. The results suggest that the only DNA polymerase required for adenoviral DNA replication in vitro is the 140K Ad DNA polymerase and that this enzyme is probably a viral gene product. 50 references, 10 figures, 3 tables

Lipofectamine and related cationic lipids strongly improve adenoviral infection efficiency of primitive human hematopoietic cells.

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Byk, T; Haddada, H; Vainchenker, W; Louache, F

1998-11-20

Adenoviral vectors have the potential to infect a large number of cell types including quiescent cells. Their use in hematopoietic cells is limited by the episomal form of their DNA, leading to transgene loss in the progeny cells. However, the use of this vector may be interesting for short-term in vitro modifications of primitive human hematopoietic cells. Therefore, we have investigated the ability of adenovirus to transduce cord blood CD34+ cells. Several promoters were tested using the lacZ reporter gene. The PGK and CMV promoters induced transgene expression in 18-25% of the cells, whereas the HTLV-I and especially the RSV promoter were almost inactive. To improve infection efficiency, adenovirus was complexed with cationic lipids. Lipofectamine, Cellfectin, and RPR120535b, but not Lipofectin, Lipofectace, or DOTAP, markedly improved transgene expression in CD34+ cells (from 19 to 35%). Lipofectamine strongly enhanced infection efficiency of the poorly infectable primitive CD34+CD38low cells (from 11 to 28%) whereas the more mature CD34+CD38+ cells were only slightly affected (from 24 to 31%). Lipofectamine tripled the infection of CFU-GMs and LTC-ICs derived from the CD34+CD38low cell fraction (from 4 to 12% and from 5 to 16%, respectively) and doubled that of BFU-Es (from 13 to 26%). We conclude that cationic lipids can markedly increase the efficiency of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer into primitive hematopoietic cells.

Rational development of radiopharmaceuticals for HIV-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lau, Chuen-Yen; Maldarelli, Frank; Eckelman, William C.; Neumann, Ronald D.

2014-01-01

The global battle against HIV-1 would benefit from a sensitive and specific radiopharmaceutical to localize HIV-infected cells. Ideally, this probe would be able to identify latently infected host cells containing replication competent HIV sequences. Clinical and research applications would include assessment of reservoirs, informing clinical management by facilitating assessment of burden of infection in different compartments, monitoring disease progression and monitoring response to therapy. A “rational” development approach could facilitate efficient identification of an appropriate targeted radiopharmaceutical. Rational development starts with understanding characteristics of the disease that can be effectively targeted and then engineering radiopharmaceuticals to hone in on an appropriate target, which in the case of HIV-1 (HIV) might be an HIV-specific product on or in the host cell, a differentially expressed gene product, an integrated DNA sequence specific enzymatic activity, part of the inflammatory response, or a combination of these. This is different from the current approach that starts with a radiopharmaceutical for a target associated with a disease, mostly from autopsy studies, without a strong rationale for the potential to impact patient care. At present, no targeted therapies are available for HIV latency, although a number of approaches are under study. Here we discuss requirements for a radiopharmaceutical useful in strategies targeting persistently infected cells. The radiopharmaceutical for HIV should be developed based on HIV biology, studied in an animal model and then in humans, and ultimately used in clinical and research settings

Rapid transient production in plants by replicating and non-replicating vectors yields high quality functional anti-HIV antibody.

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Frank Sainsbury

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The capacity of plants and plant cells to produce large amounts of recombinant protein has been well established. Due to advantages in terms of speed and yield, attention has recently turned towards the use of transient expression systems, including viral vectors, to produce proteins of pharmaceutical interest in plants. However, the effects of such high level expression from viral vectors and concomitant effects on host cells may affect the quality of the recombinant product.To assess the quality of antibodies transiently expressed to high levels in plants, we have expressed and characterised the human anti-HIV monoclonal antibody, 2G12, using both replicating and non-replicating systems based on deleted versions of Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV RNA-2. The highest yield (approximately 100 mg/kg wet weight leaf tissue of affinity purified 2G12 was obtained when the non-replicating CPMV-HT system was used and the antibody was retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER. Glycan analysis by mass-spectrometry showed that the glycosylation pattern was determined exclusively by whether the antibody was retained in the ER and did not depend on whether a replicating or non-replicating system was used. Characterisation of the binding and neutralisation properties of all the purified 2G12 variants from plants showed that these were generally similar to those of the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO cell-produced 2G12.Overall, the results demonstrate that replicating and non-replicating CPMV-based vectors are able to direct the production of a recombinant IgG similar in activity to the CHO-produced control. Thus, a complex recombinant protein was produced with no apparent effect on its biochemical properties using either high-level expression or viral replication. The speed with which a recombinant pharmaceutical with excellent biochemical characteristics can be produced transiently in plants makes CPMV-based expression vectors an attractive option for

Improved therapy-success prediction with GSS estimated from clinical HIV-1 sequences.

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Pironti, Alejandro; Pfeifer, Nico; Kaiser, Rolf; Walter, Hauke; Lengauer, Thomas

2014-01-01

Rules-based HIV-1 drug-resistance interpretation (DRI) systems disregard many amino-acid positions of the drug's target protein. The aims of this study are (1) the development of a drug-resistance interpretation system that is based on HIV-1 sequences from clinical practice rather than hard-to-get phenotypes, and (2) the assessment of the benefit of taking all available amino-acid positions into account for DRI. A dataset containing 34,934 therapy-naïve and 30,520 drug-exposed HIV-1 pol sequences with treatment history was extracted from the EuResist database and the Los Alamos National Laboratory database. 2,550 therapy-change-episode baseline sequences (TCEB) were assigned to test set A. Test set B contains 1,084 TCEB from the HIVdb TCE repository. Sequences from patients absent in the test sets were used to train three linear support vector machines to produce scores that predict drug exposure pertaining to each of 20 antiretrovirals: the first one uses the full amino-acid sequences (DEfull), the second one only considers IAS drug-resistance positions (DEonlyIAS), and the third one disregards IAS drug-resistance positions (DEnoIAS). For performance comparison, test sets A and B were evaluated with DEfull, DEnoIAS, DEonlyIAS, geno2pheno[resistance], HIVdb, ANRS, HIV-GRADE, and REGA. Clinically-validated cut-offs were used to convert the continuous output of the first four methods into susceptible-intermediate-resistant (SIR) predictions. With each method, a genetic susceptibility score (GSS) was calculated for each therapy episode in each test set by converting the SIR prediction for its compounds to integer: S=2, I=1, and R=0. The GSS were used to predict therapy success as defined by the EuResist standard datum definition. Statistical significance was assessed using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A comparison of the therapy-success prediction performances among the different interpretation systems for test set A can be found in Table 1, while those for test set

Gene Transfer of Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase 67 by Herpes Simplex Virus Vectors Suppresses Neuropathic Pain Induced by Human Immunodeficiency Virus gp120 Combined with ddC in Rats.

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Kanao, Megumi; Kanda, Hirotsugu; Huang, Wan; Liu, Shue; Yi, Hyun; Candiotti, Keith A; Lubarsky, David A; Levitt, Roy C; Hao, Shuanglin

2015-06-01

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related painful sensory neuropathies primarily consist of the HIV infection-related distal sensory polyneuropathy and antiretroviral toxic neuropathies. Pharmacotherapy provides only partial relief of pain in patients with HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome because little is known about the exact neuropathological mechanisms for HIV-associated neuropathic pain (NP). Hypofunction of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) GABAergic inhibitory mechanisms has been reported after peripheral nerve injury. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that HIV gp120 combined with antiretroviral therapy reduces spinal GABAergic inhibitory tone and that restoration of GABAergic inhibitory tone will reduce HIV-related NP in a rat model. The application of recombinant HIV-1 envelope protein gp120 into the sciatic nerve plus systemic ddC (one antiretroviral drug) induced mechanical allodynia. The hind paws of rats were inoculated with replication-defective herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors genetically encoding gad1 gene to express glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67), an enzyme that catalyzes the decarboxylation of glutamate to GABA. Mechanical threshold was tested using von Frey filaments before and after treatments with the vectors. The expression of GAD67 in both the lumbar spinal cord and the L4-5 dorsal root ganglia was examined using western blots. The expression of mitochondrial superoxide in the spinal dorsal horn was examined using MitoSox imaging. The immunoreactivity of spinal GABA, pCREB, and pC/EBPβ was tested using immunohistochemistry. In the gp120 with ddC-induced neuropathic pain model, GAD67 expression mediated by the HSV vector caused an elevation of mechanical threshold that was apparent on day 3 after vector inoculation. The antiallodynic effect of the single HSV vector inoculation expressing GAD67 lasted >28 days. The area under the time-effect curves in the HSV vector expressing GAD67 was increased compared with that in the

Efficient delivery and stable gene expression in a hematopoietic cell line using a chimeric serotype 35 fiber pseudotyped helper-dependent adenoviral vector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balamotis, Michael Andrew; Huang, Katie; Mitani, Kohnosuke

2004-01-01

Certain human cell populations have remained difficult to infect with human adenovirus (Ad) serotype 5 because of their lack of coxsackievirus B-adenovirus receptor (CAR). Native adenovirus fiber compositions, although diverse, cannot infect all tissue types. Recently, a chimeric Ad5/35 fiber was created, which displays an altered tropism from Ad5. We incorporated this chimeric fiber into a helper-dependent (HD) adenovirus vector system and compared HD to E1-deleted (E1Δ) vectors by transgene expression, cell transduction efficiency, and cytotoxicity. K562 cells were infected ∼50 times more efficiently with the chimeric Ad5/35 fiber compared with the Ad5 fiber. Short-term transgene expression was sustained longer from HD Ad5/35 than E1Δ Ad5/35 vector after in vitro infection of actively dividing K562 cells. Rapid loss of transgene expression from E1Δ Ad5/35 infection was not due to the loss of vector genomes, as determined by quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR), or cytotoxicity, but rather through a putative silencing mechanism

HIV-1-Specific IgA Monoclonal Antibodies from an HIV-1 Vaccinee Mediate Galactosylceramide Blocking and Phagocytosis

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2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Vaccine-elicited humoral immune responses comprise an array of antibody forms and specificities, with only a fraction contributing to protective host immunity. Elucidation of antibody effector functions responsible for protective immunity against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) acquisition is a major goal for the HIV-1 vaccine field. Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is an important part of the host defense against pathogens; however, little is known about the role of vaccine-elicited IgA and its capacity to mediate antiviral functions. To identify the antiviral functions of HIV-1-specific IgA elicited by vaccination, we cloned HIV-1 envelope-specific IgA monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) by memory B cell cultures from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from an RV144 vaccinee and produced two IgA clonal cell lines (HG129 and HG130) producing native, nonrecombinant IgA MAbs. The HG129 and HG130 MAbs mediated phagocytosis by monocytes, and HG129 blocked HIV-1 Env glycoprotein binding to galactosylceramide, an alternative HIV-1 receptor. These findings elucidate potential antiviral functions of vaccine-elicited HIV-1 envelope-specific IgA that may act to block HIV-1 acquisition at the portal of entry by preventing HIV-1 binding to galactosylceramide and mediating antibody Fc receptor-mediated virion phagocytosis. Furthermore, these findings highlight the complex and diverse interactions of vaccine-elicited IgA with pathogens that depend on IgA fine specificity and form (e.g., multimeric or monomeric) in the systemic circulation and mucosal compartments. IMPORTANCE Host-pathogen interactions in vivo involve numerous immune mechanisms that can lead to pathogen clearance. Understanding the nature of antiviral immune mechanisms can inform the design of efficacious HIV-1 vaccine strategies. Evidence suggests that both neutralizing and nonneutralizing antibodies can mediate some protection against HIV in animal models. Although numerous studies have characterized the

Two-dimensional gauge model with vector U(1) and axial-vector U(1) symmetries

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Watabiki, Y.

1989-01-01

We have succeeded in constructing a two-dimensional gauge model with both vector U(1) and axial-vector U(1) symmetries. This model is exactly solvable. The Schwinger term vanishes in this model as a consequence of the above symmetries, and negative-norm states appear. However, the norms of physical states are always positive semidefinite due to the gauge symmetries

Mos1 transposon-based transformation of fish cell lines using baculoviral vectors

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Yokoo, Masako [Laboratory of Applied Molecular Entomology, Division of Applied Bioscience, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589 (Japan); Fujita, Ryosuke [Laboratory of Applied Molecular Entomology, Division of Applied Bioscience, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589 (Japan); Innate Immunity Laboratory, Graduate School of Life Science and Creative Research Institution, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021 (Japan); Nakajima, Yumiko [Functional Genomics Group, COMB, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 903-0213 (Japan); Yoshimizu, Mamoru; Kasai, Hisae [Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hakodate 041-8611 (Japan); Asano, Shin-ichiro [Laboratory of Applied Molecular Entomology, Division of Applied Bioscience, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589 (Japan); Bando, Hisanori, E-mail: hban@abs.agr.hokudai.ac.jp [Laboratory of Applied Molecular Entomology, Division of Applied Bioscience, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589 (Japan)

2013-09-13

Highlights: •The baculovirus vector infiltrates the cells of economic important fishes. •Drosophila Mos1 transposase expressed in fish cells maintains its ability to localize to the nucleus. •The baculoviral vector carrying Mos1 is a useful tool to stably transform fish cells. -- Abstract: Drosophila Mos1 belongs to the mariner family of transposons, which are one of the most ubiquitous transposons among eukaryotes. We first determined nuclear transportation of the Drosophila Mos1-EGFP fusion protein in fish cell lines because it is required for a function of transposons. We next constructed recombinant baculoviral vectors harboring the Drosophila Mos1 transposon or marker genes located between Mos1 inverted repeats. The infectivity of the recombinant virus to fish cells was assessed by monitoring the expression of a fluorescent protein encoded in the viral genome. We detected transgene expression in CHSE-214, HINAE, and EPC cells, but not in GF or RTG-2 cells. In the co-infection assay of the Mos1-expressing virus and reporter gene-expressing virus, we successfully transformed CHSE-214 and HINAE cells. These results suggest that the combination of a baculovirus and Mos1 transposable element may be a tool for transgenesis in fish cells.

Mos1 transposon-based transformation of fish cell lines using baculoviral vectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokoo, Masako; Fujita, Ryosuke; Nakajima, Yumiko; Yoshimizu, Mamoru; Kasai, Hisae; Asano, Shin-ichiro; Bando, Hisanori

2013-01-01

Highlights: •The baculovirus vector infiltrates the cells of economic important fishes. •Drosophila Mos1 transposase expressed in fish cells maintains its ability to localize to the nucleus. •The baculoviral vector carrying Mos1 is a useful tool to stably transform fish cells. -- Abstract: Drosophila Mos1 belongs to the mariner family of transposons, which are one of the most ubiquitous transposons among eukaryotes. We first determined nuclear transportation of the Drosophila Mos1-EGFP fusion protein in fish cell lines because it is required for a function of transposons. We next constructed recombinant baculoviral vectors harboring the Drosophila Mos1 transposon or marker genes located between Mos1 inverted repeats. The infectivity of the recombinant virus to fish cells was assessed by monitoring the expression of a fluorescent protein encoded in the viral genome. We detected transgene expression in CHSE-214, HINAE, and EPC cells, but not in GF or RTG-2 cells. In the co-infection assay of the Mos1-expressing virus and reporter gene-expressing virus, we successfully transformed CHSE-214 and HINAE cells. These results suggest that the combination of a baculovirus and Mos1 transposable element may be a tool for transgenesis in fish cells

Impact of community-based interventions on HIV knowledge, attitudes, and transmission.

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Salam, Rehana A; Haroon, Sarah; Ahmed, Hashim H; Das, Jai K; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A

2014-01-01

In 2012, an estimated 35.3 million people lived with HIV, while approximately two million new HIV infections were reported. Community-based interventions (CBIs) for the prevention and control of HIV allow increased access and ease availability of medical care to population at risk, or already infected with, HIV. This paper evaluates the impact of CBIs on HIV knowledge, attitudes, and transmission. We included 39 studies on educational activities, counseling sessions, home visits, mentoring, women's groups, peer leadership, and street outreach activities in community settings that aimed to increase awareness on HIV/AIDS risk factors and ensure treatment adherence. Our review findings suggest that CBIs to increase HIV awareness and risk reduction are effective in improving knowledge, attitudes, and practice outcomes as evidenced by the increased knowledge scores for HIV/AIDS (SMD: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.25, 1.07), protected sexual encounters (RR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.25), condom use (SMD: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.03, 1.58), and decreased frequency of sexual intercourse (RR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.96). Analysis shows that CBIs did not have any significant impact on scores for self-efficacy and communication. We found very limited evidence on community-based management for HIV infected population and prevention of mother- to-child transmission (MTCT) for HIV-infected pregnant women. Qualitative synthesis suggests that establishment of community support at the onset of HIV prevention programs leads to community acceptance and engagement. School-based delivery of HIV prevention education and contraceptive distribution have also been advocated as potential strategies to target high-risk youth group. Future studies should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of community delivery platforms for prevention of MTCT, and various emerging models of care to improve morbidity and mortality outcomes.

HIV incidence from the first population-based cohort study in India.

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Dandona, Lalit; Kumar, G Anil; Lakshmi, Vemu; Ahmed, G Md Mushtaq; Akbar, Mohammed; Ramgopal, Sri P; Sudha, Talasila; Alary, Michel; Dandona, Rakhi

2013-07-17

Understanding about who acquires new HIV infection and the determinants of why some persons get infected and others do not is fundamental to controlling HIV in the population. We assess HIV incidence and its associations in the population of a high HIV burden district in Andhra Pradesh state in southern India by a population-based longitudinal cohort study. We re-surveyed a population-based cohort of 12,617 adults in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh for which we had reported a baseline HIV prevalence of 1.72% (rural 1.64%, urban 1.89%) among the 15-49 years age group in 2004-2005. We conducted interviews to assess risk behaviour and performed HIV testing again in 2010-2011. We assessed the rate of new HIV infection and its associations using multiple logistic regression. The participation rate in the follow-up was 74.9% and 63.9% of the baseline rural and urban samples, respectively. Over a mean follow-up of 5.63 years, the incidence of HIV was 1.26 per 1000 person-years (95% CI 0.83-1.69), after adjusting for slight compositional bias in the follow-up sample. The incidence per 1000 person-years was higher among rural men (1.68) than urban men (0.85), and among rural women (1.28) than urban women (0.54). The strongest association with incidence was a HIV positive spouse in the baseline for both men (odds ratio 266, 95% CI 62-1137) and women (odds ratio 28, 95% CI 9-88). Among men the other significant associations with HIV incidence were frequent use of condom for sex over the past 6 months, non-circumcision, more than one lifetime woman sex partner or ever visited sex worker, and transport-related occupation; for women the other significant associations were having had HIV testing other than antenatal check-up, previously married but currently not, and tobacco use. These first population-based cohort incidence data from India suggest that rural areas of high HIV burden states would need more attention to prevent new HIV infections, and that spouses of HIV

HIV-1 Latency in Monocytes/Macrophages

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Amit Kumar

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1 targets CD4+ T cells and cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. HIV pathogenesis is characterized by the depletion of T lymphocytes and by the presence of a population of cells in which latency has been established called the HIV-1 reservoir. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART has significantly improved the life of HIV-1 infected patients. However, complete eradication of HIV-1 from infected individuals is not possible without targeting latent sources of infection. HIV-1 establishes latent infection in resting CD4+ T cells and findings indicate that latency can also be established in the cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage. Monocyte/macrophage lineage includes among others, monocytes, macrophages and brain resident macrophages. These cells are relatively more resistant to apoptosis induced by HIV-1, thus are important stable hideouts of the virus. Much effort has been made in the direction of eliminating HIV-1 resting CD4+ T-cell reservoirs. However, it is impossible to achieve a cure for HIV-1 without considering these neglected latent reservoirs, the cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage. In this review we will describe our current understanding of the mechanism of latency in monocyte/macrophage lineage and how such cells can be specifically eliminated from the infected host.

Identification of conserved subdominant HIV Type 1 CD8(+) T Cell epitopes restricted within common HLA Supertypes for therapeutic HIV Type 1 vaccines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karlsson, Ingrid; Kløverpris, Henrik; Jensen, Kristoffer Jarlov

2012-01-01

The high HIV-1 prevalence, up to 4.6% in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, makes it a relevant location for testing of therapeutic vaccines. With the aim of performing a clinical study in Guinea-Bissau, after first testing the vaccine for safety in Denmark, Europe, we here describe the design...... of a universal epitope peptide-based T cell vaccine with relevance for any geographic locations. The two major obstacles when designing such a vaccine are the high diversities of the HIV-1 genome and of the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I. We selected 15 CD8-restricted epitopes predicted......-specific, HLA-restricted T cell specificities using peptide-MHC class I tetramer labeling of CD8(+) T cells from HIV-1-infected individuals. The selected vaccine epitopes are infrequently targeted in HIV-1-infected individuals from both locations. Moreover, we HLA-typed HIV-1-infected individuals...

vFitness: a web-based computing tool for improving estimation of in vitro HIV-1 fitness experiments

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Demeter Lisa

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The replication rate (or fitness between viral variants has been investigated in vivo and in vitro for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV. HIV fitness plays an important role in the development and persistence of drug resistance. The accurate estimation of viral fitness relies on complicated computations based on statistical methods. This calls for tools that are easy to access and intuitive to use for various experiments of viral fitness. Results Based on a mathematical model and several statistical methods (least-squares approach and measurement error models, a Web-based computing tool has been developed for improving estimation of virus fitness in growth competition assays of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1. Conclusions Unlike the two-point calculation used in previous studies, the estimation here uses linear regression methods with all observed data in the competition experiment to more accurately estimate relative viral fitness parameters. The dilution factor is introduced for making the computational tool more flexible to accommodate various experimental conditions. This Web-based tool is implemented in C# language with Microsoft ASP.NET, and is publicly available on the Web at http://bis.urmc.rochester.edu/vFitness/.

HIV-1 phylogenetic analysis shows HIV-1 transits through the meninges to brain and peripheral tissues.

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Lamers, Susanna L; Gray, Rebecca R; Salemi, Marco; Huysentruyt, Leanne C; McGrath, Michael S

2011-01-01

Brain infection by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has been investigated in many reports with a variety of conclusions concerning the time of entry and degree of viral compartmentalization. To address these diverse findings, we sequenced HIV-1 gp120 clones from a wide range of brain, peripheral and meningeal tissues from five patients who died from several HIV-1 associated disease pathologies. High-resolution phylogenetic analysis confirmed previous studies that showed a significant degree of compartmentalization in brain and peripheral tissue subpopulations. Some intermixing between the HIV-1 subpopulations was evident, especially in patients that died from pathologies other than HIV-associated dementia. Interestingly, the major tissue harboring virus from both the brain and peripheral tissues was the meninges. These results show that (1) HIV-1 is clearly capable of migrating out of the brain, (2) the meninges are the most likely primary transport tissues, and (3) infected brain macrophages comprise an important HIV reservoir during highly active antiretroviral therapy. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Progress towards development of an HIV vaccine: report of the AIDS Vaccine 2009 Conference.

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Ross, Anna Laura; Bråve, Andreas; Scarlatti, Gabriella; Manrique, Amapola; Buonaguro, Luigi

2010-05-01

The search for an HIV/AIDS vaccine is steadily moving ahead, generating and validating new concepts in terms of novel vectors for antigen delivery and presentation, new vaccine and adjuvant strategies, alternative approaches to design HIV-1 antigens for eliciting protective cross-neutralising antibodies, and identification of key mechanisms in HIV infection and modulation of the immune system. All these different perspectives are contributing to the unprecedented challenge of developing a protective HIV-1 vaccine. The high scientific value of this massive effort is its great impact on vaccinology as a whole, providing invaluable scientific information for the current and future development of new preventive vaccine as well as therapeutic knowledge-based infectious-disease and cancer vaccines. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bone Marrow Gene Therapy for HIV/AIDS

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Elena Herrera-Carrillo

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Bone marrow gene therapy remains an attractive option for treating chronic immunological diseases, including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV. This technology combines the differentiation and expansion capacity of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs with long-term expression of therapeutic transgenes using integrating vectors. In this review we summarize the potential of bone marrow gene therapy for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. A broad range of antiviral strategies are discussed, with a particular focus on RNA-based therapies. The idea is to develop a durable gene therapy that lasts the life span of the infected individual, thus contrasting with daily drug regimens to suppress the virus. Different approaches have been proposed to target either the virus or cellular genes encoding co-factors that support virus replication. Some of these therapies have been tested in clinical trials, providing proof of principle that gene therapy is a safe option for treating HIV/AIDS. In this review several topics are discussed, ranging from the selection of the antiviral molecule and the viral target to the optimal vector system for gene delivery and the setup of appropriate preclinical test systems. The molecular mechanisms used to formulate a cure for HIV infection are described, including the latest antiviral strategies and their therapeutic applications. Finally, a potent combination of anti-HIV genes based on our own research program is described.

Mortality Attributable to Smoking Among HIV-1-Infected Individuals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helleberg, Marie; Afzal, Shoaib; Kronborg, Gitte

2013-01-01

and with HIV among current and nonsmoking individuals from a population-based, nationwide HIV cohort and a cohort of matched HIV-negative individuals.Results. A total of 2921 HIV patients and 10 642 controls were followed for 14 281 and 45 122 person-years, respectively. All-cause and non......-AIDS-related mortality was substantially increased among smoking compared to nonsmoking HIV patients (MRR, 4.4 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 3.0-6.7] and 5.3 [95% CI, 3.2-8.8], respectively). Excess MR per 1000 person-years among current vs nonsmokers was 17.6 (95% CI, 13.3-21.9) for HIV patients and 4.8 (95% CI, 3.......2-6.4) for controls. A 35-year-old HIV patient had a median life expectancy of 62.6 years (95% CI, 59.9-64.6) for smokers and 78.4 years (95% CI, 70.8-84.0) for nonsmokers; the numbers of life-years lost in association with smoking and HIV were 12.3 (95% CI, 8.1-16.4) and 5.1 (95% CI, 1.6-8.5). The population...

Alemtuzumab-induced elimination of HIV-1-infected immune cells.

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Ruxrungtham, Kiat; Sirivichayakul, Sunee; Buranapraditkun, Supranee; Krause, Werner

2016-01-01

Currently, there is no drug known that is able to eradicate either HIV or HIV-infected host cells. The effectiveness of all available treatments is based on the prevention of viral replication. We investigated whether the monoclonal, CD52 receptor-targeting antibody, alemtuzumab, which is currently approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, is able to eliminate HIV-infected immune cells. In blood samples from healthy donors and from HIV-1-infected subjects who were either treatment-naïve or resistant to HAART, we studied whether the CD52 expression on T cells and their subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8), B cells (CD19), dendritic cells (CD123) and monocytes (CD11c) is retained in HIV-1 infection and whether alemtuzumab is able to eradicate infected cells, using four-colour flow cytometry. We found that CD52 expression on immune cells is retained in HIV-1 infection regardless of CD4 cell count, viral load and treatment status, and is amenable to alemtuzumab-induced depletion. For the first time it could be shown in vitro that HIV-1-infected immune cells can be eliminated by using the monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab.

Pseudotyped Lentiviral Vectors for Retrograde Gene Delivery into Target Brain Regions

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Kenta Kobayashi

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Gene transfer through retrograde axonal transport of viral vectors offers a substantial advantage for analyzing roles of specific neuronal pathways or cell types forming complex neural networks. This genetic approach may also be useful in gene therapy trials by enabling delivery of transgenes into a target brain region distant from the injection site of the vectors. Pseudotyping of a lentiviral vector based on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1 with various fusion envelope glycoproteins composed of different combinations of rabies virus glycoprotein (RV-G and vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G enhances the efficiency of retrograde gene transfer in both rodent and nonhuman primate brains. The most recently developed lentiviral vector is a pseudotype with fusion glycoprotein type E (FuG-E, which demonstrates highly efficient retrograde gene transfer in the brain. The FuG-E–pseudotyped vector permits powerful experimental strategies for more precisely investigating the mechanisms underlying various brain functions. It also contributes to the development of new gene therapy approaches for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, by delivering genes required for survival and protection into specific neuronal populations. In this review article, we report the properties of the FuG-E–pseudotyped vector, and we describe the application of the vector to neural circuit analysis and the potential use of the FuG-E vector in gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease.

5-Fluorouracil-related enhancement of adenoviral infection is Coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor independent and associated with morphological changes in lipid membranes

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Cabrele, Chiara; Vogel, Mandy; Piso, Pompiliu; Rentsch, Markus; Schröder, Josef; Jauch, Karl W; Schlitt, Hans J; Beham, Alexander

2006-01-01

AIM: To evaluate the mechanism underlying the effects of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) on adenoviral infection. METHODS: Low and high Coxsackievirus-Adenovirus Receptor (CAR) expressing human colon carcinoma cell lines were treated with 5-FU and two E1-deleted adenoviral constructs, one transferring GFP (Ad/CMV-GFP) the other bax (Ad/CEA-bax). The number of infected cells were monitored by GFP expression. To evaluate the effects of 5-FU in a receptor free system, Ad/GFP were encapsulated in liposomes and treated with 5-FU. Ad/GFP release was estimated with PCR and infection of 293 cells with the supernatant. Electron microscopy of the Ad5-GFP-liposome complex was made to investigate morphological changes of the liposomes after 5-FU. RESULTS: Infection rates of all cell lines increased from 50% to 98% with emerging 5-FU concentrations. The enhanced viral uptake was independent of the CAR expression. Additionally, 5-FU treated liposomes released 2-2.5 times more adenoviruses. Furthermore, 5-FU-treated liposomes appeared irregular and porous-like. CONCLUSION: adenoviral uptake is enhanced in the presence of 5-FU irrespective of CAR and is associated with morphological changes in membranes making the combination of both a promising option in gene therapy. PMID:16937527

THE PREVALENCE OF HUMAN IMMUNODEFIENCY VIRUS-1 (HIV-1 SUBTYPES AND TRANSMISSION METHOD AMONG HIV/AIDS INFECTION PATIENT IN TULUNGAGUNG, EAST JAVA INDONESIA

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Achmad Ardianto

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The rapid epidemic growth of HIV is continuing in Indonesia. There are some factors which have influenced the spreading of this epidemic in Indonesia, such as the poor awareness to avoid unsafe free sex attitude and the sharing of needles and syringes among intravenous drug users (IDUs. The sexual transmission of HIV has also apparently increased in Tulungagung. Commercial sex workers play a significant role in the spread of HIV in Tulungagung. People in Tulungagung have worked at other countries as Indonesian migrants. This condition can cause the increase number of HIV-1 case and the possibility of genetic variation (subtype HIV-1 in Tulungagung. This research is aimed to analyze the subtype and to determine estimation of transmission mode on infected patient of HIV-1 and AIDS who came to Seruni clinic Dr. Iskak hospital in Tulungagung. 40 HIV?AIDSpatients were interviewed to determine the subtype and the transmission mode. The results showed that 14 of 40 plasma samples (35% were successfully to amplified and sequenced. OverallCRF01-AE wereidentified as predominant subtype among HIV/AIDS patients in Tulungagung. Based on individual information, 31 of 40 subjects (77% were heterosexual transmission.

Comparative {sup 1}H NMR-based metabonomic analysis of HIV-1 sera

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Philippeos, C. [University of Johannesburg, Department of Biochemistry (South Africa); Steffens, F. E. [University of Pretoria, Department of Statistics (South Africa); Meyer, D. [University of Pretoria, Department of Biochemistry (South Africa)], E-mail: debra.meyer@up.ac.za

2009-07-15

{sup 1}H NMR spectroscopy of sera from HIV-1 infected and uninfected individuals was performed on 300 and 600 MHz instruments. The resultant spectra were automatically data reduced to 90 and 180 integral segments of equal length. Analysis of variance identified significant differences between the sample groups, especially for the samples analyzed on 600 MHz and reduced to fewer segments. Linear discriminant analysis correctly classified 100% of the samples analyzed on the 300 MHz NMR (reduced to 180 segments); an increase in instrument sensitivity resulted in lower percentages of correctly classified samples. Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) resulted in 100% correct classification of all samples from both instruments. Thus {sup 1}H-NMR metabonomics on either instrument distinguishes HIV-positive individuals using or not using anti retroviral therapy, but the sensitivity of the instrument impacts on data reduction. Furthermore, MLR is a novel multivariate statistical technique for improved classification of biological data analyzed in NMR.

A Subdivision-Based Representation for Vector Image Editing.

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Liao, Zicheng; Hoppe, Hugues; Forsyth, David; Yu, Yizhou

2012-11-01

Vector graphics has been employed in a wide variety of applications due to its scalability and editability. Editability is a high priority for artists and designers who wish to produce vector-based graphical content with user interaction. In this paper, we introduce a new vector image representation based on piecewise smooth subdivision surfaces, which is a simple, unified and flexible framework that supports a variety of operations, including shape editing, color editing, image stylization, and vector image processing. These operations effectively create novel vector graphics by reusing and altering existing image vectorization results. Because image vectorization yields an abstraction of the original raster image, controlling the level of detail of this abstraction is highly desirable. To this end, we design a feature-oriented vector image pyramid that offers multiple levels of abstraction simultaneously. Our new vector image representation can be rasterized efficiently using GPU-accelerated subdivision. Experiments indicate that our vector image representation achieves high visual quality and better supports editing operations than existing representations.

Community-Based HIV-1 Early Diagnosis and Risk Behavior Analysis of Men Having Sex with Men in Hong Kong.

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Jianguo Liang

Full Text Available The increasing prevalence of HIV-1 among men having sex with men (MSM calls for an investigation of HIV-1 prevalence and incidence in MSM by early diagnosis to assist with early preventive interventions in Hong Kong. The participants were recruited randomly from MSM communities within a one-year period. Rapid HIV Test (RHT and real-time dried blood spot (DBS-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (DBS-qPCR were used for the early diagnosis of 474 participants. Risk behavior analysis was performed by studying information obtained from the participants during the study period. The HIV-1 prevalence and incident rates in the studied MSM population were 4.01% (19/474 and 1.47% (7/474, respectively. Three infected participants were found at the acute phase of infection by DBS-qPCR. Only 46.4% (220/474 MSM were using condoms regularly for anal sex. HIV infection significantly correlated with unprotected receptive anal sex and syphilis infection. An increased number of infections was found among foreign MSM in Hong Kong. This study is the first to use DBS-qPCR to identify acutely infected individuals in a community setting and to provide both the prevalence and incident rates of HIV-1 infection among MSM in Hong Kong. The risk analysis provided evidence that behavior intervention strengthening is necessary to fight against the increasing HIV-1 epidemic among MSM in Hong Kong and surrounding regions in Asia.

A single gp120 residue can affect HIV-1 tropism in macaques.

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Gregory Q Del Prete

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Species-dependent variation in proteins that aid or limit virus replication determines the ability of lentiviruses to jump between host species. Identifying and overcoming these differences facilitates the development of animal models for HIV-1, including models based on chimeric SIVs that express HIV-1 envelope (Env glycoproteins, (SHIVs and simian-tropic HIV-1 (stHIV strains. Here, we demonstrate that the inherently poor ability of most HIV-1 Env proteins to use macaque CD4 as a receptor is improved during adaptation by virus passage in macaques. We identify a single amino acid, A281, in HIV-1 Env that consistently changes during adaptation in macaques and affects the ability of HIV-1 Env to use macaque CD4. Importantly, mutations at A281 do not markedly affect HIV-1 Env neutralization properties. Our findings should facilitate the design of HIV-1 Env proteins for use in non-human primate models and thus expedite the development of clinically relevant reagents for testing interventions against HIV-1.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)-derived recombinant vectors for gene transfer and gene therapy.

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Marconi, Peggy; Fraefel, Cornel; Epstein, Alberto L

2015-01-01

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1 ) is a human pathogen whose lifestyle is based on a long-term dual interaction with the infected host, being able to establish both lytic and latent infections. The virus genome is a 153-kilobase pair (kbp) double-stranded DNA molecule encoding more than 80 genes. The interest of HSV-1 as gene transfer vector stems from its ability to infect many different cell types, both quiescent and proliferating cells, the very high packaging capacity of the virus capsid, the outstanding neurotropic adaptations that this virus has evolved, and the fact that it never integrates into the cellular chromosomes, thus avoiding the risk of insertional mutagenesis. Two types of vectors can be derived from HSV-1, recombinant vectors and amplicon vectors, and different methodologies have been developed to prepare large stocks of each type of vector. This chapter summarizes the approach most commonly used to prepare recombinant HSV-1 vectors through homologous recombination, either in eukaryotic cells or in bacteria.

Nup153 and Nup98 bind the HIV-1 core and contribute to the early steps of HIV-1 replication

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Di Nunzio, Francesca, E-mail: francesca.di-nunzio@pasteur.fr [Molecular Virology and Vaccinology unit, CNRS URA 3015, Department of Virology, Institut Pasteur, 25-28 rue du Dr. Roux, 75015 Paris (France); Fricke, Thomas [Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, NY 10461 (United States); Miccio, Annarita [University of Modena e Reggio Emilia, Centro di Medicina Rigenerativa, Modena (Italy); Valle-Casuso, Jose Carlos; Perez, Patricio [Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, NY 10461 (United States); Souque, Philippe [Molecular Virology and Vaccinology unit, CNRS URA 3015, Department of Virology, Institut Pasteur, 25-28 rue du Dr. Roux, 75015 Paris (France); Rizzi, Ermanno; Severgnini, Marco [Institute of Biomedical Technologies, CNR, Milano (Italy); Mavilio, Fulvio [University of Modena e Reggio Emilia, Centro di Medicina Rigenerativa, Modena (Italy); Genethon, Evry (France); Charneau, Pierre [Molecular Virology and Vaccinology unit, CNRS URA 3015, Department of Virology, Institut Pasteur, 25-28 rue du Dr. Roux, 75015 Paris (France); Diaz-Griffero, Felipe, E-mail: felipe.diaz-griffero@einstein.yu.edu [Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, NY 10461 (United States)

2013-05-25

The early steps of HIV-1 replication involve the entry of HIV-1 into the nucleus, which is characterized by viral interactions with nuclear pore components. HIV-1 developed an evolutionary strategy to usurp the nuclear pore machinery and chromatin in order to integrate and efficiently express viral genes. In the current work, we studied the role of nucleoporins 153 and 98 (Nup153 and Nup98) in infection of human Jurkat lymphocytes by HIV-1. We showed that Nup153-depleted cells exhibited a defect in nuclear import, while depletion of Nup 98 caused a slight defect in HIV integration. To explore the biochemical viral determinants for the requirement of Nup153 and Nup98 during HIV-1 infection, we tested the ability of these nucleoporins to interact with HIV-1 cores. Our findings showed that both nucleoporins bind HIV-1 cores suggesting that this interaction is important for HIV-1 nuclear import and/or integration. Distribution analysis of integration sites in Nup153-depleted cells revealed a reduced tendency of HIV-1 to integrate in intragenic sites, which in part could account for the large infectivity defect observed in Nup153-depleted cells. Our work strongly supports a role for Nup153 in HIV-1 nuclear import and integration. - Highlights: ► We studied the role of Nup98 and Nup153 in HIV-1 infection. ► Nup98 binds the HIV-1 core and is involved in HIV-1 integration. ► Nup153 binds the HIV-1 core and is involved in HIV-1 nuclear import. ► Depletion of Nup153 decreased the integration of HIV-1 in transcriptionally active sites.

Nup153 and Nup98 bind the HIV-1 core and contribute to the early steps of HIV-1 replication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Nunzio, Francesca; Fricke, Thomas; Miccio, Annarita; Valle-Casuso, Jose Carlos; Perez, Patricio; Souque, Philippe; Rizzi, Ermanno; Severgnini, Marco; Mavilio, Fulvio; Charneau, Pierre; Diaz-Griffero, Felipe

2013-01-01

The early steps of HIV-1 replication involve the entry of HIV-1 into the nucleus, which is characterized by viral interactions with nuclear pore components. HIV-1 developed an evolutionary strategy to usurp the nuclear pore machinery and chromatin in order to integrate and efficiently express viral genes. In the current work, we studied the role of nucleoporins 153 and 98 (Nup153 and Nup98) in infection of human Jurkat lymphocytes by HIV-1. We showed that Nup153-depleted cells exhibited a defect in nuclear import, while depletion of Nup 98 caused a slight defect in HIV integration. To explore the biochemical viral determinants for the requirement of Nup153 and Nup98 during HIV-1 infection, we tested the ability of these nucleoporins to interact with HIV-1 cores. Our findings showed that both nucleoporins bind HIV-1 cores suggesting that this interaction is important for HIV-1 nuclear import and/or integration. Distribution analysis of integration sites in Nup153-depleted cells revealed a reduced tendency of HIV-1 to integrate in intragenic sites, which in part could account for the large infectivity defect observed in Nup153-depleted cells. Our work strongly supports a role for Nup153 in HIV-1 nuclear import and integration. - Highlights: ► We studied the role of Nup98 and Nup153 in HIV-1 infection. ► Nup98 binds the HIV-1 core and is involved in HIV-1 integration. ► Nup153 binds the HIV-1 core and is involved in HIV-1 nuclear import. ► Depletion of Nup153 decreased the integration of HIV-1 in transcriptionally active sites

Anti-HIV-1 activity of flavonoid myricetin on HIV-1 infection in a dual-chamber in vitro model.

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Silvana Pasetto

Full Text Available HIV infection by sexual transmission remains an enormous global health concern. More than 1 million new infections among women occur annually. Microbicides represent a promising prevention strategy that women can easily control. Among emerging therapies, natural small molecules such as flavonoids are an important source of new active substances. In this study we report the in vitro cytotoxicity and anti-HIV-1 and microbicide activity of the following flavonoids: Myricetin, Quercetin and Pinocembrin. Cytotoxicity tests were conducted on TZM-bl, HeLa, PBMC, and H9 cell cultures using 0.01-100 µM concentrations. Myricetin presented the lowest toxic effect, with Quercetin and Pinocembrin relatively more toxic. The anti-HIV-1 activity was tested with TZM-bl cell plus HIV-1 BaL (R5 tropic, H9 and PBMC cells plus HIV-1 MN (X4 tropic, and the dual tropic (X4R5 HIV-1 89.6. All flavonoids showed anti-HIV activity, although Myricetin was more effective than Quercetin or Pinocembrin. In TZM-bl cells, Myricetin inhibited ≥90% of HIV-1 BaL infection. The results were confirmed by quantification of HIV-1 p24 antigen in supernatant from H9 and PBMC cells following flavonoid treatment. In H9 and PBMC cells infected by HIV-1 MN and HIV-1 89.6, Myricetin showed more than 80% anti-HIV activity. Quercetin and Pinocembrin presented modest anti-HIV activity in all experiments. Myricetin activity was tested against HIV-RT and inhibited the enzyme by 49%. Microbicide activities were evaluated using a dual-chamber female genital tract model. In the in vitro microbicide activity model, Myricetin showed promising results against different strains of HIV-1 while also showing insignificant cytotoxic effects. Further studies of Myricetin should be performed to identify its molecular targets in order to provide a solid biological foundation for translational research.

Vaxvec: The first web-based recombinant vaccine vector database and its data analysis

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Deng, Shunzhou; Martin, Carly; Patil, Rasika; Zhu, Felix; Zhao, Bin; Xiang, Zuoshuang; He, Yongqun

2015-01-01

A recombinant vector vaccine uses an attenuated virus, bacterium, or parasite as the carrier to express a heterologous antigen(s). Many recombinant vaccine vectors and related vaccines have been developed and extensively investigated. To compare and better understand recombinant vectors and vaccines, we have generated Vaxvec (http://www.violinet.org/vaxvec), the first web-based database that stores various recombinant vaccine vectors and those experimentally verified vaccines that use these vectors. Vaxvec has now included 59 vaccine vectors that have been used in 196 recombinant vector vaccines against 66 pathogens and cancers. These vectors are classified to 41 viral vectors, 15 bacterial vectors, 1 parasitic vector, and 1 fungal vector. The most commonly used viral vaccine vectors are double-stranded DNA viruses, including herpesviruses, adenoviruses, and poxviruses. For example, Vaxvec includes 63 poxvirus-based recombinant vaccines for over 20 pathogens and cancers. Vaxvec collects 30 recombinant vector influenza vaccines that use 17 recombinant vectors and were experimentally tested in 7 animal models. In addition, over 60 protective antigens used in recombinant vector vaccines are annotated and analyzed. User-friendly web-interfaces are available for querying various data in Vaxvec. To support data exchange, the information of vaccine vectors, vaccines, and related information is stored in the Vaccine Ontology (VO). Vaxvec is a timely and vital source of vaccine vector database and facilitates efficient vaccine vector research and development. PMID:26403370

The feasibility of incorporating Vpx into lentiviral gene therapy vectors

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Samantha A McAllery

2016-01-01

Full Text Available While current antiretroviral therapy has significantly improved, challenges still remain in life-long targeting of HIV-1 reservoirs. Lentiviral gene therapy has the potential to deliver protective genes into the HIV-1 reservoir. However, inefficient reverse transcription (RT occurs in HIV-1 reservoirs during lentiviral gene delivery. The viral protein Vpx is capable of increasing lentiviral RT by antagonizing the restriction factor SAMHD1. Incorporating Vpx into lentiviral vectors could substantially increase gene delivery into the HIV-1 reservoir. The feasibility of this Vpx approach was tested in resting cell models utilizing macrophages and dendritic cells. Our results showed Vpx exposure led to increased permissiveness of cells over a period that exceeded 2 weeks. Consequently, significant lower potency of HIV-1 antiretrovirals inhibiting RT and integration was observed. When Vpx was incorporated with anti-HIV-1 genes inhibiting either pre-RT or post-RT stages of the viral life-cycle, transduction levels significantly increased. However, a stronger antiviral effect was only observed with constructs that inhibit pre-RT stages of the viral life cycle. In conclusion this study demonstrates a way to overcome the major delivery obstacle of gene delivery into HIV-1 reservoir cell types. Importantly, incorporating Vpx with pre-RT anti-HIV-1 genes, demonstrated the greatest protection against HIV-1 infection.

HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa : studies of immune responses, prevailing viruses and epidemiological trends

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Andersson, Sören

1999-01-01

This thesis encompasses immunological, virological and epidemiological studies of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections in Guinea-Bissau. We have established a robust and reliable diagnostic strategy based on a combination of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and rapid simple tests. Evaluations showed that the strategy had a high capacity to discriminate between HIV-1 and HIV-2 and a high concordance with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Epidemiological studies in...

Cytoplasmic Dynein Promotes HIV-1 Uncoating

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Paulina Pawlica

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Retroviral capsid (CA cores undergo uncoating during their retrograde transport (toward the nucleus, and/or after reaching the nuclear membrane. However, whether HIV-1 CA core uncoating is dependent upon its transport is not understood. There is some evidence that HIV-1 cores retrograde transport involves cytoplasmic dynein complexes translocating on microtubules. Here we investigate the role of dynein-dependent transport in HIV-1 uncoating. To interfere with dynein function, we depleted dynein heavy chain (DHC using RNA interference, and we over-expressed p50/dynamitin. In immunofluorescence microscopy experiments, DHC depletion caused an accumulation of CA foci in HIV-1 infected cells. Using a biochemical assay to monitor HIV-1 CA core disassembly in infected cells, we observed an increase in amounts of intact (pelletable CA cores upon DHC depletion or p50 over-expression. Results from these two complementary assays suggest that inhibiting dynein-mediated transport interferes with HIV-1 uncoating in infected cells, indicating the existence of a functional link between HIV-1 transport and uncoating.

First-in-Human Evaluation of the Safety and Immunogenicity of an Intranasally Administered Replication-Competent Sendai Virus-Vectored HIV Type 1 Gag Vaccine: Induction of Potent T-Cell or Antibody Responses in Prime-Boost Regimens.

Science.gov (United States)

Nyombayire, Julien; Anzala, Omu; Gazzard, Brian; Karita, Etienne; Bergin, Philip; Hayes, Peter; Kopycinski, Jakub; Omosa-Manyonyi, Gloria; Jackson, Akil; Bizimana, Jean; Farah, Bashir; Sayeed, Eddy; Parks, Christopher L; Inoue, Makoto; Hironaka, Takashi; Hara, Hiroto; Shu, Tsugumine; Matano, Tetsuro; Dally, Len; Barin, Burc; Park, Harriet; Gilmour, Jill; Lombardo, Angela; Excler, Jean-Louis; Fast, Patricia; Laufer, Dagna S; Cox, Josephine H

2017-01-01

 We report the first-in-human safety and immunogenicity assessment of a prototype intranasally administered, replication-competent Sendai virus (SeV)-vectored, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine.  Sixty-five HIV-1-uninfected adults in Kenya, Rwanda, and the United Kingdom were assigned to receive 1 of 4 prime-boost regimens (administered at 0 and 4 months, respectively; ratio of vaccine to placebo recipients, 12:4): priming with a lower-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally, followed by boosting with an adenovirus 35-vectored vaccine encoding HIV-1 Gag, reverse transcriptase, integrase, and Nef (Ad35-GRIN) given intramuscularly (S L A); priming with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally, followed by boosting with Ad35-GRIN given intramuscularly (S H A); priming with Ad35-GRIN given intramuscularly, followed by boosting with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally (AS H ); and priming and boosting with a higher-dose SeV-Gag given intranasally (S H S H ).  All vaccine regimens were well tolerated. Gag-specific IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot-determined response rates and geometric mean responses were higher (96% and 248 spot-forming units, respectively) in groups primed with SeV-Gag and boosted with Ad35-GRIN (S L A and S H A) than those after a single dose of Ad35-GRIN (56% and 54 spot-forming units, respectively) or SeV-Gag (55% and 59 spot-forming units, respectively); responses persisted for ≥8 months after completion of the prime-boost regimen. Functional CD8 + T-cell responses with greater breadth, magnitude, and frequency in a viral inhibition assay were also seen in the S L A and S H A groups after Ad35-GRIN boost, compared with those who received either vaccine alone. SeV-Gag did not boost T-cell counts in the AS H group. In contrast, the highest Gag-specific antibody titers were seen in the AS H group. Mucosal antibody responses were sporadic.  SeV-Gag primed functional, durable HIV-specific T-cell responses and boosted antibody

Towards an HIV-1 cure: measuring the latent reservoir

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Bruner, Katherine M.; Hosmane, Nina N.; Siliciano, Robert F.

2015-01-01

The latent reservoir of HIV-1 in resting memory CD4+ T cells serves as a major barrier to curing HIV-1 infection. While many PCR- and culture-based assays have been used to measure the size of the latent reservoir, correlation between results of different assays is poor and recent studies indicate that no available assay provides an accurate measurement of reservoir size. The discrepancies between assays are a hurdle to clinical trials that aim to measure the efficacy of HIV-1 eradication strategies. Here we describe the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to measure the latent reservoir. PMID:25747663

Recognition of HIV-1 peptides by host CTL is related to HIV-1 similarity to human proteins.

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Morgane Rolland

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: While human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes preferentially target specific regions of the viral proteome, HIV-1 features that contribute to immune recognition are not well understood. One hypothesis is that similarities between HIV and human proteins influence the host immune response, i.e., resemblance between viral and host peptides could preclude reactivity against certain HIV epitopes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We analyzed the extent of similarity between HIV-1 and the human proteome. Proteins from the HIV-1 B consensus sequence from 2001 were dissected into overlapping k-mers, which were then probed against a non-redundant database of the human proteome in order to identify segments of high similarity. We tested the relationship between HIV-1 similarity to host encoded peptides and immune recognition in HIV-infected individuals, and found that HIV immunogenicity could be partially modulated by the sequence similarity to the host proteome. ELISpot responses to peptides spanning the entire viral proteome evaluated in 314 individuals showed a trend indicating an inverse relationship between the similarity to the host proteome and the frequency of recognition. In addition, analysis of responses by a group of 30 HIV-infected individuals against 944 overlapping peptides representing a broad range of individual HIV-1B Nef variants, affirmed that the degree of similarity to the host was significantly lower for peptides with reactive epitopes than for those that were not recognized. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that antigenic motifs that are scarcely represented in human proteins might represent more immunogenic CTL targets not selected against in the host. This observation could provide guidance in the design of more effective HIV immunogens, as sequences devoid of host-like features might afford superior immune reactivity.