| Autor: |
Venkatesh P Kashi, Rajesh A Jacob, Raghavendra A Shamanna, Malini Menon, Anangi Balasiddaiah, Rebu K Varghese, Mahesh Bachu, Udaykumar Ranga |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Rok vydání: |
2014 |
| Předmět: |
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| Zdroj: |
PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 12, p e114155 (2014) |
| Druh dokumentu: |
article |
| ISSN: |
1932-6203 |
| DOI: |
10.1371/journal.pone.0114155 |
| Popis: |
Extracellular Tat (eTat) plays an important role in HIV-1 pathogenesis. The presence of anti-Tat antibodies is negatively correlated with disease progression, hence making Tat a potential vaccine candidate. The cytotoxicity and moderate immunogenicity of Tat however remain impediments for developing Tat-based vaccines. Here, we report a novel strategy to concurrently enhance the immunogenicity and safety profile of Tat. The grafting of universal helper T-lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes, Pan DR Epitope (PADRE) and Pol711 into the cysteine rich domain (CRD) and the basic domain (BD) abolished the transactivation potential of the Tat protein. The HTL-Tat proteins elicited a significantly higher titer of antibodies as compared to the wild-type Tat in BALB/c mice. While the N-terminal epitope remained immunodominant in HTL-Tat immunizations, an additional epitope in exon-2 was recognized with comparable magnitude suggesting a broader immune recognition. Additionally, the HTL-Tat proteins induced cross-reactive antibodies of high avidity that efficiently neutralized exogenous Tat, thus blocking the activation of a Tat-defective provirus. With advantages such as presentation of multiple B-cell epitopes, enhanced antibody response and importantly, transactivation-deficient Tat protein, this approach has potential application for the generation of Tat-based HIV/AIDS vaccines. |
| Databáze: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
| Externí odkaz: |
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