Preserved CD4+ Central Memory T Cells and Survival in Vaccinated SIV-Challenged Monkeys

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1124226
• Publication Date: 2006-06-08T21:12:44Z
• Authors: Norman L. Letvin; John R. Mascola; Yue Sun; Darci A. Gorgone; Adam P. Buzby; Ling Xu; Zhi-yong Yang; Bimal Chakrabarti; Srinivas S. Rao; Jörn E. Schmitz; David C. Montefiori; Brianne R. Barker; Fred L. Bookstein; Gary J. Nabel
• Keywords: CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Vaccines, Synthetic; Molecular Sequence Data; SAIDS Vaccines; Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Virus Replication; Macaca mulatta; Survival Analysis; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Vaccines, DNA; Animals; Humans; Simian Immunodeficiency Virus; Amino Acid Sequence; Immunologic Memory; Plasmids

Vaccine-induced cellular immunity controls virus replication in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)–infected monkeys only transiently, leading to the question of whether such vaccines for AIDS will be effective. We immunized monkeys with plasmid DNA and replication-defective adenoviral vectors encoding SIV proteins and then challenged them with pathogenic SIV. Although these monkeys demonstrated a reduction in viremia restricted to the early phase of SIV infection, they showed a prolonged survival. This survival was associated with preserved central memory CD4 + T lymphocytes and could be predicted by the magnitude of the vaccine-induced cellular immune response. These immune correlates of vaccine efficacy should guide the evaluation of AIDS vaccines in humans.