HIV is a sexually transmitted disease, and a vaccine capable of preventing sexual transmission of HIV should elicit mucosal immune responses in the genital tract. The purpose of this project is to use the SIV/rhesus macaque system to define the best imunization strategy to elicit genital mucosal immune responses. The initial immunization protocol utilized naked DNA encoding the HIV-1 gag, pol, env genes, and multiple sites were used for immunization. None of the monkeys made detectable antibody responses to HIV-1 antitgens. The animals were then immunized orally with pseudovirions made by placing the same HIV construct in a protein expression system. A propietary adjuvant (polyphosphazene) was used for all the pseudovirion immunizations. All the animals made antibody responses and were boosted at 6 weeks PI with the same vaccine. The systemic and mucosal immune responses are being assessed and it is anticipated that the animals will be challenged with an intravaginal inoculation of SHIV. *KEY*HIV-1 pseudovirions, Adjuvant, Mucosal immunity
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