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Date Posted: 19:09:10 07/24/02 Wed
Author: moonotter
Subject: Therapeutic DNA Vaccine to Be Tested in Patients With Chronic HIV Infection

Therapeutic DNA Vaccine to Be Tested in Patients With Chronic HIV Infection


Reuters Health Information 2002. © 2002 Reuters Ltd.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.


By Claudio Lavanga
BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters Health) Jul 10 - Researchers in Italy and the US will soon begin human trials with a 'therapeutic' AIDS vaccine designed to help people infected with HIV control the infection in combination with drugs.

The vaccine already been shown to benefit monkeys chronically infected with SHIV in laboratory studies, Dr. Franco Lori told Reuters Health at the International AIDS Conference. Dr. Juliana Lisiewicz, cofounder with Dr. Lori of the Research Institute for Genetic and Human Therapy based in Washington, DC, and Pavia, Italy, is presenting details of the monkey study on Thursday at the Barcelona meeting.

Dr. Lori told Reuters Health that the researchers, when developing the vaccine, studied the case of a man in Berlin whose immune system spontaneously controlled HIV. From these studies, they concluded that they needed to stimulate cytotoxic T cells.

"We do this by using a novel DNA vaccine that contains most of the HIV proteins," he said. "In this way we guarantee a wide spectrum of action, and do not target a specific protein."

He explained that the DNA vaccine is administered topically. "We gently rub the skin so that we expose a network of Langerhans cells. When the vaccine gets in contact with the Langerhans cells, they signal the danger to the closest lymph node, propelling it to recognize the HIV virus, and activate HIV-specific killer cells that can eliminate infected cells."

In the monkey trials, seven chronically infected rhesus macaques were given antiretroviral therapy 3 weeks on and 3 weeks off, while seven others were given the drugs on the same schedule plus the vaccine.

The monkeys that did not receive the vaccine exhibited a rebound in virus levels each time there was a break in drug therapy. The seven that received the vaccine progressively controlled the rebound in viral levels from a median 33,860 copies/mL to <200 copies/mL.

A separate group of monkeys with AIDS showed a viral load drop from a mean of 4,292,260 copies/mL to <200 copies when given the drug-vaccine combination.

"The vaccine is designed to work with the drugs. Drugs can control the virus when people take them as directed, but the bad news is that when patients stop--either because they can't afford them or because they simply forget them--the virus rebounds immediately. In this case, the vaccine would come into action, keeping the virus in check," said Dr. Lori.

"Our preliminary animal data provided promising results where, for the first time, a vaccine therapy suppressed the virus in chronic infection. We are optimistic that we will demonstrate similar results in humans," he told Reuters Health.

The group hopes to begin human trials at the end of this year both in Italy and in the United States. First results are expected at the end of 2003.



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