Oligodeoxynucleotide Co-Administration With HIV-1 Vaccine Boosts Immune Response.(Brief Article)

2001 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Administering an oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) DNA sequence together with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine induces a stronger immune response than administering the ODN sequence first, say researchers in California.

People exposed to, but not infected with, HIV-1 show augmented immune function involving interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production, RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted) production, and lymphocyte proliferation, noted R.B. Moss and colleagues. The researchers' aim was to find the best mechanism for stimulating a similar immune response in animal models.

"We compared the effect of priming with a synthetic ODN immunostimulatory DNA sequence followed by vaccination with HIV-1 in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) or HIV-1 antigen alone to the simultaneous administration of immunostimulatory sequences (ISS) with HIV-1 in IFA," reported Moss et al.

The two methods - using the ODN DNA sequence before vaccination with HIV-1 in IFA, or administering the two concurrently - caused similar lymph cell production of IFN-gamma. But simultaneous administration caused a stronger response of lymphocytes, beta-chemokine production measured as RANTES, and a higher p24-specific response ("Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific immune responses are generated with the simultaneous vaccination of a ...