HIV is a significant problem worldwide. Considerable effort is being made to develop a vaccine which elicits high titers of neutralizing antibodies, which have been correlated with long term protection. The investigators have devised a novel, dual carrier conjugate vaccine. They anticipate it will overcome many of the limitations of current experimental HIV vaccines, including short-lived immunity, requirement for multiple immunizations, and limited effectiveness in immune-compromised patients. The dual carrier construct induces rapid, persistent, high titer anti- peptide antibodies, in the absence of adjuvant, even in neonatal and immune-compromised animals. They propose to use this construct to induce antibodies to HIV gp120 envelope-derived peptides which have been demonstrated to induce broadly cross-reactive, neutralizing antibodies. In Phase I study, they will evaluate the conjugate vaccine, in mice, for (l) optimal peptide configuration, (2) ability to prime for boosting, (3) ability to immunize and boost in immune-compromised animals, and (4) the need for additional adjuvants. This technology can be applied to other peptide-based conjugate vaccines.
