Title:HIV-1 Vaccine Strategies Utilizing Viral Vectors Including Antigen- Displayed Inoviral Vectors
Volume: 11
Issue: 8
Author(s): Kyriakos A. Hassapis and Leondios G. Kostrikis
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Antigen-display, HIV neutralizing antibodies, HIV vaccine, inovirus-display, phage-display, viral vectors.
Abstract: Antigen-presenting viral vectors have been extensively used as vehicles for the presentation of antigens to the
immune system in numerous vaccine strategies. Particularly in HIV vaccine development efforts, two main viral vectors
have been used as antigen carriers: (a) live attenuated vectors and (b) virus-like particles (VLPs); the former, although
highly effective in animal studies, cannot be clinically tested in humans due to safety concerns and the latter have failed to
induce broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies. For more than two decades, Inoviruses (non-lytic bacterial phages) have
also been utilized as antigen carriers in several vaccine studies. Inoviral vectors are important antigen-carriers in vaccine
development due to their ability to present an antigen on their outer architecture in many copies and to their natural high
immunogenicity. Numerous fundamental studies have been conducted, which have established the unique properties of
antigen-displayed inoviral vectors in HIV vaccine efforts. The recent isolation of new, potent anti-HIV broadly
neutralizing monoclonal antibodies provides a new momentum in this emerging technology.
