AIDS Vaccine Week articles from May 2003

AIDS Vaccine Week archives from May 2003

Adenovirus vector shows promise.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A novel vector shows promise for use in HIV and other vaccines, researchers in Maryland say. "A strategy to circumvent immune responses to adenovirus (Ad)...

HIV vaccine candidate taken by into phase I trial in U.S., Africa.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Epimmune, Inc., (EPMN) announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a component of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), holds an active Investigational New Drug...

First AIDS vaccine tested in Africa generates low immune response.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - A preventive AIDS vaccine containing HIV-1 clade B (env and gag-pro) antigens delivered by a canarypox vector elicited a weak but detectable immune...

Peptide constraints enhance anti-gp41 immunogenicity.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have found a way to improve the efficacy of an anti-HIV monoclonal antibody that could serve as the basis for an effective...

CDC tries new strategies in HIV battle.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Saying AIDS prevention efforts have "stalled," the U.S. government announced a new strategy it hopes will sharply increase routine testing of people at risk for the disease. The U.S. Centers for...

Stampidine first effective agent against FIV.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists from Parker Hughes Cancer Center report that stampidine is the first single agent to be safe and effective in treating cats chronically infected with feline immunodeficiency virus, or FIV....

Study: Half of HIV patients who died at Parkland not on antiviral.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nearly half of HIV-infected patients who died at Parkland Hospital from 1999 to 2000 were not taking antiviral medications, a finding that surprised researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern...

Orphan crisis in sub-Saharan Africa blamed on AIDS prevalence.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The orphan crisis emerging in sub-Saharan Africa has been blamed on the prevalence of AIDS in that region. "This study uses recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data to examine levels,...

South Africa fails to sign Global Fund AIDS deal.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The director of the United Nations-administered fund that provides money to fight AIDS said he was disappointed the South African government had not yet signed a deal to accept millions of dollars to...

Drug discovery, development research grant program announced.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will award $500,000 in grants for innovative HIV/AIDS drug research in recognition of the need to produce new alternatives and hope in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. ...

RANTES and CpG oligodeoxynucleotides effective adjuvants in SIV vaccine.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - RANTES and CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) functioned as adequate substitutes for the cholera toxin (CT) as potent adjuvants for a simian...

Recombinant antigenized secretory IgA recovered for use as vaccine vector.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have developed a simplified procedure to recover recombinant antigenized secretory IgA for use as a vaccine vector. "Induced protection mechanisms at mucosal surfaces involve secretory...

Researchers find method to study hidden HIV reservoirs.
May 5, 2003... 2003 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists are now one step closer to understanding how HIV hides in cells and rears its ugly head once patients stop taking combination drug therapy, which can suppress viral loads to undetectable...

HIV vaccine vectors expressing vaccinia virus IL-15 induce cellular immunity.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Co-administration of HIV vaccine vectors with vaccinia viruses expressing IL-15, but not IL-2, induced long-lasting cellular immunity. "Vaccine efficacy is determined largely by cellular and...

pH-responsive polymers used for intracellular delivery of biomolecular drugs.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bio-inspired pH-responsive polymers have been developed for the intracellular delivery of biomolecular drugs. "The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries have developed a wide variety of...

St. Jude to manufacture investigative drugs and vaccines.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has become the only pediatric cancer research center in the United States to open a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) facility for producing vaccines, drugs,...

Treatment of HIV-1 virions depleted of cyclophilin A restores infectivity.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Treatment of HIV-1 virions depleted of cyclophilin A by natural endogenous reverse transcription restores infectivity, scientists in Atlanta report. According to recent research published in the...

Official: Up to 1.5 million Russians estimated to have AIDS.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Up to 1.5 million Russians have contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, the nation's top expert on the disease says. AIDS came lately to Russia but spread rapidly as intravenous drug use has...

Gene company expands to new headquarters, gets NIH contract.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Althea Technologies, Inc., announced that it has relocated its operations to a state-of-the-art facility at 11040 Roselle Street, San Diego, California, and received a U.S. National Institutes of...

Study identifies common viral coinfections among African children with HIV-1.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Study identifies common viral coinfections among African children infected HIV-1. "City-dwelling children from Kenya who were infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) were tested...

Group applauds new CDC guidelines on HIV/AIDS prevention.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Medical Institute for Sexual Health has hailed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidelines on HIV/AIDS prevention. The organization released this statement by Joe S....

Lack of dietary selenium associated with HIV-1 spread in sub-Saharan Africa.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Canada have identified a lack of dietary selenium as a contributor to the rapid spread of HIV-1 in sub-Saharan Africa. "AIDS was first identified in Sub-Saharan Africa and North...

Human immunodeficiency virus may use transcytosis to cross genital mucosa.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The human immunodeficiency virus may use transcytosis across a tight monolayer of polarized human endometrial cells under pro-inflammatory conditions. According to recent research from France,...

Burkina Faso to purchase generic AIDS drugs from Indian company.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Burkina Faso government has signed a contract to purchase generic AIDS drugs from an Indian company, but said the price of treatment remained too high for many. Health Minister Alain Yoda said...

Therapeutic vaccines firm raises UKP15 million in international funding round.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oxxon Pharmaccines Ltd., a biotechnology company developing innovative immunotherapeutics, specifically therapeutic vaccines (pharmaccines), has raised UKP15 million pounds ($23 million) in a private...

Many young adults fear vaccine injections.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Almost a quarter of the young adult patients visiting a travel health clinic admitted being afraid of injections. "Fear of injections may interfere with receipt of vaccines. The frequency,...

HIV-1 5' leader harbors an internal ribosome entry site.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The HIV-1 5' leader harbors an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) capable of driving protein synthesis, researchers in Canada report. "The 5' leader of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1...

Synthesis of novel HIV-1 protease inhibitors based on carbohydrate scaffolds.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have synthesized novel HIV-1 protease inhibitors based on carbohydrate scaffolds. According to a study from Ireland, "The synthesis of peptidomimetic inhibitors of HIV-1 protease based...

Immune responses in HIV-negative women exposed to HIV-infected partner studied.
May 12, 2003... 2003 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have investigated the HIV-specific T cell responses to conserved HIV proteins in HIV-seronegative women highly exposed to a single HIV-infected partner. According to a study from the...

Constrained peptide immunogens show improved binding to anti-HIV-1 antibody.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Constrained peptide immunogens showed improved binding to anti-HIV-1 antibody gp41 monoclonal antibody. "The human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) transmembrane glycoprotein gp41 mediates...

T-helper cell response to HIV envelope protein has little breadth.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- T-helper cell response to a human immunodeficiency virus envelope protein Show little promise. "Single-envelope human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccines have been studied for more than a...

CCR5 and CXCR4 coreceptors both used by HIV-1 primary isolates from subtype C.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV-1 primary isolates from subtype C are able to use the CCR5 and CXCR4 coreceptors together or alone to enter cells, a Journal of Virology paper reported. AIDS researchers with South Africa's...

Expression of CD57 defines antigen-induced apoptotic death of CD8+ T cells.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The expression of CD57 defines replicative senescence and antigen-induced apoptotic death of CD8+ T lymphocytes. According to a study from the United States, "Virus-specific CD8+ T-cell responses...

Multivalent recombinant MVA vaccine designed for dominant HIV form in China.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A multivalent recombinant modified Vaccinia Ankara vaccine has been designed for a circulating C/B recombinant form of HIV-1 that is dominant in Yunnan, China. Z. Chen presented a poster...

Researchers describe potential of CXCR4 inhibitors as new HIV treatment.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Organizers of the 16th International Conference on Antiviral Research have announced the presentation of data supporting the potential of a new class of anti-HIV agents. Dr. Dominque Schols, an...

Novel small molecule exhibits in vitro and in vivo efficacy against HIV.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Kucera Pharmaceutical Co., a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, spin-off of Wake Forest University's School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has announced that its founder,...

Using CTLA-4 to target APCs could boost immunogenicity of HIV-1 vaccines.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Using CTLA-4 to target antigen-presenting cells could boost immunogenicity of HIV-1 vaccines, suggest Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center scientists. Pointing to study results indicating weak...

Microgel polymer beads may provide general vehicle for vaccines, gene therapy.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A simple method of shuttling proteins into cells via microscopic polymer beads shows promise as a general way of carrying vaccines or bits of DNA for gene therapy, according to chemists at the...

Novel Ad recombinant vaccine to HIV-1 developed.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Wistar Institute scientists have developed a novel adenovirus recombinant vaccine to HIV-1. "Human recombinant adenovirus has been studied extensively as vaccine carrier for antigens from...

CD8+ early targeting of variable proteins in HIV-1 infection isn't sustained.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CD8+ T cells target variable proteins early in HIV-1 infection, but don't maintain this response in chronic disease, according to University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers. "CTL [cytotoxic...

CIR-T cells mediate anti-HIV-1 activity, bypassing class I requirements.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chimeric immune T-cell receptor cells "can mediate antiviral activity against HIV-1 in cells that are resistant to class I-restricted CTL-mediated activity" and also suppress the virus in several cell...

Viremia thwarts NK-mediated inhibitory effect on HIV replication.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The presence of viremia thwarts natural killer cell-mediated inhibitory effect on HIV replication, study results show. S. Kottilil and colleagues at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and...

Phase I/II trial results reported from HIV vaccines study in infants.
May 19, 2003... 2003 MAY 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Early results from a Phase I/II safety and immunogenicity trial of Aventis Pasteur's ALVAC-HIV vCP1452 vaccine and with VaxGen's AIDSVAX B/B vaccine in children of HIV positive mothers were reported...

Vaccine prevents cytokine expression dysfunction in SIV-infected monkeys.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Global dysfunction of CD4 T-lymphocyte cytokine expression in simian-human immunodeficiency virus/SIV-infected monkeys was prevented by vaccination. "Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection...

Surrogate endpoints in HIV vaccine studies discussed.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A group of researchers from several institutions have proposed two surrogate endpoints for HIV vaccine efficacy trials: pre-antitretroviral therapy (ART) viral load trajectories and a composite...

Intact CD4+ T-lymphocyte cytokine expression capacity linked to stable clinical status.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Study findings reported by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, researchers suggest that intact CD4+ T-lymphocyte cytokine expression capacity is associated with stable...

Novel adenovirus recombinant HIV-1 vaccine shows promise in murine study.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Wistar Institute scientists reported to the 10th conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections that they've developed a novel adenovirus recombinant HIV-1 vaccine. Tests of the vaccine...

T-helper cell response to HIV envelope protein is limited.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Single-envelope vaccines can often fail to provoke an immune response sufficiently diverse to recognize variant sequences among circulating HIV, authors of a Journal of Virology study concluded. ...

Promising preclinical results presented on vaccine.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Columbus Children's Hospital and its collaborators, Targeted Genetics Corp. and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), have demonstrated that utilizing a recombinant...

Complement protein, C3d, boosts HIV-1 immune response.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study of complement protein, C3d, as a anti-HIV-1 DNA vaccine adjuvant demonstrated that C3d does boost humoral immune response. "A central problem for the development of DNA vaccines has been...

Early effective neutralizing antibody response seen.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have reported on the case of a patient infected with HIV-1 who was treated during early infection and "in whom a rapid autologous neutralizing [antibody] response was detected after therapy...

New virus load assay reported comparable with Roche commercial kit, but cheaper.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An international team of scientists has developed a viral load assay that they claim yields comparable results to Roche's commercial kit, but that is about five times less expensive. In a poster...

ProMetic expands DNA purification collaboration.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ProMetic BioSciences, the Canadian wholly owned subsidiary of ProMetic Life Sciences, Inc., (PLI), and Aldevron, LLC, announced the expansion of their successful collaboration to develop and market a...

When sterilizing immunity isn't achievable, vaccine-induced immunity might be.
May 26, 2003... 2003 MAY 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Findings from a case study suggest the value of vaccine-induced immunity against HIV as a goal when sterilizing immunity isn't achievable. In a case of HIV-1 intersubtype superinfection identified...