Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2012 May; 19(5):649-58.

PubMed ID: 22398243

DNA and Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccines encoding multiple cytotoxic and helper T-lymphocyte epitopes are safe but weakly immunogenic in HIV-1-uninfected, Vaccinia-naive adults

Gorse GJ, Newman MJ, deCamp A, Hay CM, DeRosa SC, Noonan E, Livingston BD, Fuchs JD, Kalams SA, Cassis-Chavami FL, the NIAID HIV Vaccine Trials Network

We evaluated a DNA plasmid-vectored vaccine and a recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara vaccine (MVA-mBN32), each encoding cytotoxic and helper T-lymphocyte epitopes of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in 36 HIV-1-uninfected adults using a heterologous prime-boost schedule. HIV-1-specific cellular immune responses, measured as interleukin-2 and/or gamma interferon production, were induced in 1 (4%) of 28 subjects after the first MVA-mBN32 immunization and in 3 (12%) of 25 subjects after the second MVA-mBN32 immunization. Among these responders, polyfunctional T-cell responses, including the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha and perforin, were detected. Vaccinia virus-specific antibodies were induced to the MVA vector in 27 (93%) of 29 and 26 (93%) of 28 subjects after the first and second immunizations with MVA-mBN32. These peptide-based vaccines were safe but were ineffective at inducing HIV-1-specific immune responses and induced much weaker responses than MVA vaccines expressing the entire open reading frames of HIV-1 proteins.