title: Studies on the cross-clade and cross-species conservation of HIV-1 Gag-specific CD8 and CD4 T cell responses elicited by a clade B DNA/MVA vaccine in macaques.
abstract: Here, we evaluate the T cell responses raised by our HIV-1 clade B DNA/MVA vaccine for recognition of a HIV-1 circulating recombinant form (CRF) AG Gag sequence (CRF-02). The cross-clade activity for the AG sequence was better conserved for CD8 than CD4 T cells. CD8 T cells exhibited 75% conservation for height and 83% conservation for breadth, whereas CD4 responses exhibited 45% conservation for height and 50% conservation for breadth. Five CD8 epitopes and 8 CD4 epitopes were mapped. Three of the 5 CD8 epitopes and 2 of the 8 CD4 epitopes were conserved across multiple HIV-1 clades. Impressively, all of the CD8 epitopes and half of the CD4 epitopes have been reported for human infections. Our results demonstrate that the clade B DNA/MVA HIV vaccine elicits T cell responses against epitopes that are conserved in multiple clades and recognized by humans and macaques.
authors.affiliation: Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. rama@rmy.emory.edu
authors.forename: Rama Rao
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Amara
authors.forename: Sunita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Milloni
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Lakshmi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chennareddi
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Herndon
authors.forename: Harriet L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Robinson
mesh_terms: D016915:AIDS Vaccines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D000939:Epitopes / Q000235:genetics; D015683:Gene Products, gag / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D016915:AIDS Vaccines; D000939:Epitopes; D015683:Gene Products, gag; D015488:HIV Antigens; D019444:Vaccines, DNA