Lentiviral vaccine targets dendritic cells and induces CD8+ T cell responses.

2003 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In vivo administration of a lentiviral vaccine targets dendritic cells and induces efficient CD8+ T cell responses.

"The present study evaluates the potential of third-generation lentivirus vectors with respect to their use as in vivo-administered T cell vaccines. We demonstrate that lentivector injection into the footpad of mice transduces dendritic cells that appear in the draining lymph node and in the spleen. In addition, a lentivector vaccine bearing a T cell antigen induced very strong systemic antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses in mice," scientists writing in the Journal of Clinical Investigation report.

"Comparative vaccination performed in two different antigen models demonstrated that in vivo administration of lentivector was superior to transfer of transduced dendritic cells or peptide/adjuvant vaccination in terms of both amplitude and longevity of the CTL response," said Christoph Esslinger and colleagues at the University of Lausanne and the Institut Suisse de Recherche Experimental sur le Cancer in Switzerland. "Our data suggest that a decisive factor for efficient T cell priming by lentivector might be the targeting of ...