Several retroviruses have recently been shown to promote translation of their gag gene products by internal ribosome entry. In this report, we show that mRNAs containing the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gag open reading frame (ORF) exhibit internal ribosome entry site (IRES) activity that can promote translational initiation of Pr55 gag . Remarkably, this IRES activity is driven by sequences within the gag ORF itself and is not dependent on the native gag 5-untranslated region (UTR). This cap-independent mechanism for Pr55 gag translation may help explain the high levels of translation of this protein in the face of major RNA structural barriers to scanning ribosomes found in the gag 5 UTR. The gag IRES activity described here also drives translation of a novel 40-kDa Gag isoform through translational initiation at an internal AUG codon found near the amino terminus of the Pr55 gag capsid domain. Our findings suggest that this low-abundance Gag isoform may be important for wild-type replication of HIV-1 in cultured cells. The activities of the HIV-1 gag IRES may be an important feature of the HIV-1 life cycle and could serve as a novel target for antiretroviral therapeutic strategies.Like other complex retroviruses, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) employs a variety of mechanisms to express numerous proteins from a single-genomic-length RNA transcript. One such mechanism is the regulated splicing of the primary transcript into more than 30 distinct mRNA species (65,(74)(75)(76). Other mechanisms for the production of different polypeptides from mature viral mRNA species rely on translational events that are atypical of normal host protein translation.The initiation of translation of most eukaryotic mRNAs is thought to occur by a process involving ribosome scanning. In this model, the 40S ribosomal subunit binds to the 5Ј end of a capped mRNA (80, 81), commences scanning toward the 3Ј end, and initiates translation upon encountering an AUG codon in suitable context (often referred to as a "Kozak" context) (47,49,50). The 60S ribosomal subunit is then recruited, and translation of a single polypeptide begins.Translation of some HIV-1 mRNAs can depart from this basic model in several ways. Translation of the pol open reading frame (ORF) requires a Ϫ1 frameshift at a "slippery" sequence within the gag ORF. This frameshift allows roughly 5 to 10% of translating ribosomes to bypass the normal gag stop codon, enabling translation of a Gag-Pol precursor protein (reviewed in reference 32). Other HIV-1 gene products, including Env and Nef, have been shown to be translated by "leaky" scanning of ribosomes past the vpu and rev AUGs, respectively (74,75,77).Another alternative mechanism for translational initiation is driven by RNA structural elements referred to as internal ribosome entry sites (or segments) (IRESs). IRESs are thought to promote initiation of translation by directly binding ribosomes, with participation of other host cell factors, in a manner independent of the mRNA cap or of scann...

Virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are critical for control of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication. However, viral escape from CTL recognition can undermine this immune control. Here we demonstrate the high frequency and pattern of viral escape from dominant epitope-specific CTL in SIV gag DNAvaccinated rhesus monkeys following a heterologous simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) challenge. DNAvaccinated monkeys exhibited initial effective control of the SIV challenge, but this early control was lost by serial breakthroughs of viral replication over a 3-year follow-up period. Increases in plasma viral RNA correlated temporally with declines of dominant SIV epitope-specific CD8 ؉ T-lymphocyte responses and the emergence of viral mutations that escaped recognition by dominant epitope-specific CTL. Viral escape from CTL occurred in a total of seven of nine vaccinated and control monkeys, including three animals that initially controlled viral replication to undetectable levels of plasma viral RNA. These data suggest that CTL exert selective pressure on viral replication and that viral escape from CTL may be a limitation of CTL-based AIDS vaccine strategies.

A guiding principle for HIV vaccine design has been that cellular and humoral immunity work together to provide the strongest degree of efficacy. However, three efficacy trials of Ad5-vectored HIV vaccines showed no protection. Transmission was increased in two of the trials, suggesting that this vaccine strategy elicited CD4+ T-cell responses that provide more targets for infection, attenuating protection or increasing transmission. The degree to which this problem extends to other HIV vaccine candidates is not known. Here, we show that a gp120-CD4 chimeric subunit protein vaccine (full-length single chain) elicits heterologous protection against simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) or simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) acquisition in three independent rhesus macaque repeated low-dose rectal challenge studies with SHIV162P3 or SIVmac251. Protection against acquisition was observed with multiple formulations and challenges. In each study, protection correlated with antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity specific for CD4-induced epitopes, provided that the concurrent antivaccine T-cell responses were minimal. Protection was lost in instances when T-cell responses were high or when the requisite antibody titers had declined. Our studies suggest that balance between a protective antibody response and antigen-specific T-cell activation is the critical element to vaccine-mediated protection against HIV. Achieving and sustaining such a balance, while enhancing antibody durability, is the major challenge for HIV vaccine development, regardless of the immunogen or vaccine formulation.

Since human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-

Despite substantial clinical benefits, complete eradication of HIV has not been possible using antiretroviral therapy (ART) alone. Strategies that can either eliminate persistent viral reservoirs or boost host immunity to prevent rebound of virus from these reservoirs after discontinuation of ART are needed; one possibility is therapeutic vaccination. We report the results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of a therapeutic vaccine regimen in patients in whom ART was initiated during the early stage of HIV infection and whose immune system was anticipated to be relatively intact. The objectives of our study were to determine whether the vaccine was safe and could induce an immune response that would maintain suppression of plasma viremia after discontinuation of ART. Vaccinations were well tolerated with no serious adverse events but produced only modest augmentation of existing HIV-specific CD4 T cell responses, with little augmentation of CD8 T cell responses. Compared with placebo, the vaccination regimen had no significant effect on the kinetics or magnitude of viral rebound after interruption of ART and no impact on the size of the HIV reservoir in the CD4 T cell compartment. Notably, 26% of subjects in the placebo arm exhibited sustained suppression of viremia (<400 copies/ml) after treatment interruption, a rate of spontaneous suppression higher than previously reported. Our findings regarding the degree and kinetics of plasma viral rebound after ART interruption have potentially important implications for the design of future trials testing interventions aimed at achieving ART-free control of HIV infection.

The potential contribution of a plasmid DNA construct to vaccine-elicited protective immunity was explored in the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/macaque model of AIDS. Making use of soluble major histocompatibility class I/peptide tetramers and peptide-specific killing assays to monitor CD8 ؉ T-lymphocyte responses to a dominant SIV Gag epitope in genetically selected rhesus monkeys, a codon-optimized SIV gag DNA vaccine construct was shown to elicit a high-frequency SIV-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response. This CTL response was demonstrable in both peripheral blood and lymph node lymphocytes. Following an intravenous challenge with the highly pathogenic viral isolate SIVsm E660, these vaccinated monkeys developed a secondary CTL response that arose with more rapid kinetics and reached a higher frequency than did the postchallenge CTL response in control plasmid-vaccinated monkeys. While peak plasma SIV RNA levels were comparable in the experimentally and control-vaccinated monkeys during the period of primary infection, the gag plasmid DNA-vaccinated monkeys demonstrated better containment of viral replication by 50 days following SIV challenge. These findings indicate that a plasmid DNA vaccine can elicit SIV-specific CTL responses in rhesus monkeys, and this vaccine-elicited immunity can facilitate the generation of secondary CTL responses and control of viral replication following a pathogenic SIV challenge. These observations suggest that plasmid DNA may prove a useful component of a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 vaccine.

The family Filoviridae contains three genera, Ebolavirus (EBOV), Marburg virus, and Cuevavirus1. Some members of the EBOV genus, including Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), can cause lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans. During 2014 an unprecedented ZEBOV outbreak occurred in West Africa and is still ongoing, resulting in nearly 10,000 deaths, and causing global concern of uncontrolled disease. To meet this challenge a rapid acting vaccine is needed. Many vaccine approaches have shown promise in being able to protect nonhuman primate (NHPs) against ZEBOV2. In response to the current ZEBOV outbreak several of these vaccines have been fast tracked for human use. However, it is not known whether any of these vaccines can provide protection against the new outbreak Makona strain of ZEBOV. One of these approaches is a first generation recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV)-based vaccine expressing the ZEBOV glycoprotein (GP) (rVSV/ZEBOV). To address safety concerns associated with this vector, we developed two candidate, further attenuated rVSV/ZEBOV vaccines. Both attenuated vaccines produced an approximately ten-fold lower vaccine-associated viremia compared to the first generation vaccine and both provided complete, single dose protection of macaques from lethal challenge with the Makona outbreak strain of ZEBOV.

Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) is currently under evaluation as a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 vaccine vector. The most compelling reasons to develop rVSV as a vaccine vector include a very low seroprevalence in humans, the ability to infect and robustly express foreign antigens in a broad range of cells, and vigorous growth in continuous cell lines used for vaccine manufacture. Numerous preclinical studies with rVSV vectors expressing antigens from a variety of human pathogens have demonstrated the versatility, flexibility, and potential efficacy of the rVSV vaccine platform. When administered to nonhuman primates (NHPs), rVSV vectors expressing HIV-1 Gag and Env elicited robust HIV-1-specific cellular and humoral immune responses, and animals immunized with rVSV vectors expressing simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) Gag and HIV Env were protected from AIDS after challenge with a pathogenic SIV/HIV recombinant. However, results from an exploratory neurovirulence study in NHPs indicated that these prototypic rVSV vectors might not be adequately attenuated for widespread use in human populations. To address this safety concern, a variety of different attenuation strategies, designed to produce a range of further attenuated rVSV vectors, are currently under investigation. Additional modifications of further attenuated rVSV vectors to upregulate expression of HIV-1 antigens and coexpress molecular adjuvants are also being developed in an effort to balance immunogenicity and attenuation.