Ad-gBCMVpoly: A novel chimeric vaccine strategy for human cytomegalovirus-associated diseases
Received 24 March 2009; received in revised form 2 July 2009; accepted 2 July 2009. published online 31 July 2009.
Abstract
In spite of numerous attempts at successful licensure, a human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) vaccine formulation remains elusive. To overcome the limitations of previous strategies, we have recently developed a novel chimeric vaccine which allows induction of both humoral and cellular immune response following a single vaccination. This vaccine includes the extracellular domain of HCMV-encoded glycoprotein-B (gB) covalently linked to multiple HLA class I- and class II-restricted T-cell epitopes from multiple HCMV antigens as a contiguous polypeptide in a replication-deficient adenoviral vector Ad5/F35 (referred to as Ad-gBCMVpoly). Immunisation with Ad-gBCMVpoly consistently generated strong gB-specific neutralizing antibody and a broad range of HCMV-specific pluripotent CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells. This immunity suppressed infection with recombinant vaccinia virus encoding HCMV antigens. Furthermore, in vitro stimulation with Ad-gBCMVpoly rapidly expanded multiple antigen-specific human CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells from healthy virus carriers. Here we discuss the advantages of the Ad-gBCMVpoly vaccine and its potential application in different clinical settings.
Australian Centre for Vaccine Development, Tumour Immunology Laboratory, Division of Immunology, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia
Corresponding author at: Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, CBCRC Building, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, 300 Herston Rd, Brisbane 4029, Australia. Tel.: +61 7 3362 0385; fax: +61 7 3845 3510.
ABSTRACT