Open AccessThe diversity of HIV-1 fights against vaccine efficacy: how self-assembling protein nanoparticle technology may fight back
Author(s) -
Christopher P. Karch,
Peter Burkhard,
Gary R. Matyas,
Zoltán Beck
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
nanomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.947
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1748-6963
pISSN - 1743-5889
DOI - 10.2217/nnm-2020-0450
Subject(s) - diversity (politics) , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , hiv vaccine , virology , sequence (biology) , vaccine efficacy , computational biology , immunology , computer science , medicine , biology , vaccination , political science , genetics , vaccine trial , law
An efficacious HIV-1 vaccine has remained an elusive target for almost 40 years. The sheer diversity of the virus is one of the major roadblocks for vaccine development. HIV-1 frequently mutates and various strains predominate in different geographic regions, making the development of a globally applicable vaccine extremely difficult. Multiple approaches have been taken to overcome the issue of viral diversity, including sequence optimization, development of consensus and mosaic sequences and the use of different prime-boost approaches. To develop an efficacious vaccine, these approaches may need to be combined. One way to potentially synergize these approaches is to use a rationally designed protein nanoparticle that allows for the native-like presentation of antigens, such as the self-assembling protein nanoparticle.