Therapeutic immunization with dendritic cells loaded with heat-inactivated autologous HIV-1 in patients with chronic HIV-1 infection.
Therapeutic immunization with autologous monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with heat-inactivated autologous human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in 12 patients with chronic HIV-1 infection who were receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was feasible, safe, and well tolerated. Virus was obtained during an initial interruption of HAART (hereafter, "stop 1") so that DCs could be pulsed. After immunization and a second interruption of HAART (hereafter, "stop 2"), set-point plasma viral load (PVL; 24 weeks after stop 2) decreased > or =0.5 log(10) copies/mL relative to baseline PVL in 4 of 12 patients. We observed a significant lengthening in mean doubling time of PVL rebound and significant decreases in the area under the curve and the mean peak of PVL rebound after stop 2, compared with those after stop 1. This response was associated with changes in HIV-1-specific CD4(+) lymphoproliferative and CD8(+) T cell responses. These changes were not observed in a group of nonimmunized control patients.
García
Felipe
F
Infectious Diseases Unit, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi I Sunyer, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Spain. fgarcia@clinic.ub.es
Lejeune
Merylene
M
Climent
Nuria
N
Gil
Cristina
C
Alcamí
José
J
Morente
Vanessa
V
Alós
Llucia
L
Ruiz
Alba
A
Setoain
Javier
J
Fumero
Emilio
E
Castro
Pedro
P
López
Anna
A
Cruceta
Anna
A
Piera
Carlos
C
Florence
Eric
E
Pereira
Arturo
A
Libois
Agnes
A
González
Nuria
N
Guilá
Meritxell
M
Caballero
Miguel
M
Lomeña
Francisco
F
Joseph
Joan
J
Miró
José M
JM
Pumarola
Tomás
T
Plana
Montserrat
M
Gatell
José M
JM
Gallart
Teresa
T
D016915:AIDS Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019562:Viral Load
D016915:AIDS Vaccines; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated