Design and Pre-Clinical Evaluation of a Universal HIV-1 Vaccine

Background One of the big roadblocks in development of HIV-1/AIDS vaccines is the enormous diversity of HIV-1, which could limit the value of any HIV-1 vaccine candidate currently under test. Methodology and Findings To address the HIV-1 variation, we designed a novel T cell immunogen, designated HIV CONSV , by assembling the 14 most conserved regions of the HIV-1 proteome into one chimaeric protein. Each segment is a consensus sequence from one of the four major HIV-1 clades A, B, C and D, which alternate to ensure equal clade coverage. The gene coding for the HIV CONSV protein was inserted into the three most studied vaccine vectors, plasmid DNA, human adenovirus serotype 5 and modified vaccine virus Ankara (MVA), and induced HIV-1-specific T cell responses in mice. We also demonstrated that these conserved regions prime CD8 + and CD4 + T cell to highly conserved epitopes in humans and that these epitopes, although usually subdominant, generate memory T cells in patients during natural HIV-1 infection. Significance Therefore, this vaccine approach provides an attractive and testable alternative for overcoming the HIV-1 variability, while focusing T cell responses on regions of the virus that are less likely to mutate and escape. Furthermore, this approach has merit in the simplicity of design and delivery, requiring only a single immunogen to provide extensive coverage of global HIV-1 population diversity.