Open AccessUse of Vaxfectin Adjuvant with DNA Vaccine Encoding the Measles Virus Hemagglutinin and Fusion Proteins Protects Juvenile and Infant Rhesus Macaques against Measles Virus
Author(s) -
Chu-Hsiang Pan,
Gretchen Jimenez,
Nitya Nair,
Qun Wang,
Robert J. Adams,
Fernando P. Polack,
Alain Rolland,
Adrián Vilalta,
Diane E. Griffin
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
clinical and vaccine immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.649
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1556-6811
pISSN - 1556-679X
DOI - 10.1128/cvi.00120-08
Subject(s) - virology , dna vaccination , viremia , measles virus , vaccination , measles , neutralizing antibody , hemagglutinin (influenza) , measles vaccine , biology , virus , antibody , immunology , medicine , immunization
A measles virus vaccine for infants under 6 months of age would help control measles. DNA vaccines hold promise, but none has provided full protection from challenge. Codon-optimized plasmid DNAs encoding the measles virus hemagglutinin and fusion glycoproteins were formulated with the cationic lipid-based adjuvant Vaxfectin. In mice, antibody and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production were increased by two- to threefold. In macaques, juveniles vaccinated at 0 and 28 days with 500 μg of DNA intradermally or with 1 mg intramuscularly developed sustained neutralizing antibody and H- and F-specific IFN-γ responses. Infant monkeys developed sustained neutralizing antibody and T cells secreting IFN-γ and interleukin-4. Twelve to 15 months after vaccination, vaccinated monkeys were protected from an intratracheal challenge: viremia was undetectable by cocultivation and rashes did not appear, while two naïve monkeys developed viremia and rashes. The use of Vaxfectin-formulated DNA is a promising approach to the development of a measles vaccine for young infants.