Ebv LMP1, a viral mimic of CD40, activates dendritic cells and functions as a molecular adjuvant when incorporated into an HIV vaccine Article

Gupta, S, Termini, JM, Niu, L et al. (2011). Ebv LMP1, a viral mimic of CD40, activates dendritic cells and functions as a molecular adjuvant when incorporated into an HIV vaccine . JOURNAL OF LEUKOCYTE BIOLOGY, 90(2), 389-398. 10.1189/jlb.0211068

cited authors

  • Gupta, S; Termini, JM; Niu, L; Kanagavelu, SK; Schmidtmayerova, H; Snarsky, V; Kornbluth, RS; Stone, GW

authors

abstract

  • HIV-1 does not significantly activate cellular immunity, which has made it difficult to use attenuated forms of HIV-1 as a vaccine. In contrast, EBV induces robust T cell responses in most infected individuals, perhaps as this virus contains LMP1, a viral mimic of CD40, which is a key activating molecule for DCs and macrophages. Consequently, studies were conducted using LMP1 and LMP1-CD40, a related construct formed by replacing the intracellular signaling domain of LMP1 with that of CD40. Upon electroporation into DCs, LMP1 and LMP1- CD40 mRNAs were sufficient to up-regulate costimulatory molecules and proinflammatory cytokines, indicating that these molecules can function in isolation as adjuvant- like molecules. As a first step toward an improved HIV vaccine, LMP1 and LMP1-CD40 were introduced into a HIV-1 construct to produce virions encoding these proteins. Transduction of DCs and macrophages with these viruses induced morphological changes and up-regulated costimulatory molecules and cytokine production by these cells. HIV-LMP1 enhanced the antigen-presenting function of DCs, as measured in an in vitro immunization assay. Taken together, these data show that LMP1 and LMP1-CD40 are portable gene cassettes with strong adjuvant properties that can be introduced into viruses such as HIV, which by themselves, are insufficient to induce protective cellular immunity. © Society for Leukocyte Biology.

publication date

  • August 1, 2011

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 389

end page

  • 398

volume

  • 90

issue

  • 2