LACTOBACILLI--A VACCINE DELIVERY VEHICLE FOR WOMEN

艾滋病病毒HIV正以惊人的速度在世界范围内传播。 虽然在艾滋病的治疗方面取得了重大进展， 开发有效的艾滋病毒疫苗一直很困难，因为 病毒经常发生变异，因为它可以通过 通过性接触的粘膜途径。女性粘膜免疫功能的研究 生殖道已被证明是一条重要的第一线 对通过异性接触感染艾滋病毒的防御。但两者都不是 传统疫苗或口服疫苗都不足以诱导粘膜 阴道的免疫力。因此，这项研究的目的是 测试细菌载体疫苗的可行性 能经阴道分娩的。我们假设女性的阴道 乳酸菌可以被改造来运送外来抗原。我们建议 (I)建立阴道乳杆菌基因克隆系统；及 阴道乳杆菌基因表达盒的筛选 外源基因的胞内、胞外和表面结合表达 抗原。我们期望记录使用阴道的可行性。 乳酸菌传递外来抗原。这项研究将是一项 为实现我们的长期目标迈出的重要的第一步 安全有效的黏膜疫苗递送系统保护妇女 防止异性传播艾滋病病毒。

The AIDS virus, HIV, has been spreading worldwide at an alarming rate. Although significant progress has been made in the treatment of AIDS, it has been difficult to develop an effective HIV vaccine because the virus frequently mutates and because it can be transmitted through the mucosal route via sexual contact. Mucosal immunity in women's reproductive tracts has been documented to be an important first line of defense against HIV infection via heterosexual contact. But neither conventional vaccines nor oral vaccines are sufficient to induce mucosal immunity in the vagina. Therefore, the objective of this study is to test the feasibility of developing a bacterial vector-based vaccine capable of vaginal delivery. We hypothesize that women's vaginal lactobacilli can be engineered to deliver foreign antigens. We propose to: (i) establish gene-cloning systems in vaginal lactobacilli; and (ii) select gene-expression cassettes in vaginal lactobacilli for intracellular, extracellular and surface-bound expression of foreign antigens. We expect to document the feasibility of using vaginal lactobacilli to deliver foreign antigens. This study will be an important first step to attaining our long-term goal of developing a safe and effective mucosal vaccine delivery system to protect women against heterosexual HIV transmission.