MICROPARTICLE DNA VACCINE AGAINST SIV

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Currently, more than 40 million people worldwide are persistently infected with HIV-1, and the main mode of transmissions for new infections is by sexual contact. Development and implementation of an effective vaccine that would prevent infection is a logical approach to controlling the spread of the disease. Infection of rhesus macaques with the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) is the best animal model for HIV infection in humans. The goal of this project is to test a novel form of vaccine delivery, i.e., the application to a mucosal surface of biodegradable microspheres loaded with DNA encoding SIV proteins. We will compare the efficacy in inducing anti-SIV systemic and mucosal immune responses in macaques given a DNA vaccine via the vaginal or intranasal mucosa. These experiments will produce useful information about a vaccine technology that can also be applied to many other sexually transmitted diseases.