GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GenVec, Inc. (Nasdaq:GNVC) announced that results from multiple ongoing clinical trials utilizing its adenovector vaccine technologies were presented yesterday at the AIDS Vaccine 2007 Conference taking place in Seattle, Washington this week. The trials, which are investigating a DNA prime- adenoviral vector boost strategy, incorporate a multiclade rAd5 HIV- 1 vaccine developed by GenVec in collaboration with the Vaccine Research Center (“VRC”), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (“NIH”).
Dr. Richard Koup of the VRC, delivered an oral presentation, “Update on Safety and Immunogenicity of VRC Products,” summarizing data from several ongoing studies sponsored by the NIH’s HIV Vaccine Trials Network (“HTVN”), the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (“IAVI”) and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (“USMHRP”) using the DNA prime-boost regimen. Dr. Koup characterized a strong vaccine induced cytotoxic (CD8+) T-cell response targeting HIV-infected cells, confirming the underlying concept of this vaccine. In the TRIAD Phase II trial, immunogenicity was achieved in approximately seventy percent of the vaccinated population. Importantly, the effect of pre-existing Ad5 immunity on immunogenicity of the vaccine appeared to be small. More than ten abstracts, posters, and presentations were presented by the VRC and its collaborators at this conference.
“The Phase 2 trials have generated a tremendous amount of information on clinical application of adenovirus vectors as vaccines. These data strongly support the use of GenVec adenovirus vectors as vaccines for HIV and other diseases,” commented Dr. Rick King, GenVec’s Senior VP of Research. read more
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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071012080135.htm
Science Daily — The search for a vaccination against HIV has been in progress since 1984, with very little success. Traditional methods used for identifying potential cellular targets can be very costly and time-consuming.
The key to creating a vaccination lies in knowing which parts of the pathogen to target with which antibodies. A new study by David Heckerman and colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital, publishing in PLoS Computational Biology, has come up with a way to match pathogens to their antibodies.
At the core of the human immune response is the train-to-kill mechanism in which specialized immune cells are sensitized to recognize small peptides from foreign pathogens (e.g., HIV). Following this sensitization, these cells are then activated to kill cells that display this same peptide. However, for sensitization and killing to occur, the pathogen peptide must be "paired up" with one of the infected person's other specialized immune molecules--an HLA (human leukocyte antigen) molecule. The way in which pathogen peptides interact with these HLA molecules defines if and how an immune response will be generated.
Heckerman's model uses ELISpot assays to identify HLA-restricted epitopes, and which HLA alleles are responsible for which reactions towards which pathogens. The data generated about the immune response to pathogens fills in missing information from previous studies, and can be used to solve a variety of similar problems.
The model was applied to data from donors with HIV, and made 12 correct predictions out of 16. This study, says David Heckerman, has "significant implications for the understanding of...vaccine development." The statistical approach is unusual in the study of HLA molecules, and could lead the way to developing an HIV vaccine.
Citation: Listgarten J, Frahm N, Kadie C, Brander C, Heckerman D (2007) A statistical framework for modeling HLA-dependent T cell response data. PLoS Comput Biol 3(10): e188. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030188
Note: This story has been adapted from material provided by Public Library of Science.
Fausto Intilla
www.oloscience.com
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