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Therapeutic vaccines against HIV need international partnerships

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 3, pages 503–509 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

The successes of anti-retroviral treatments against HIV are limited today by the cost and toxicity of lifelong administration. An innovative therapeutic strategy has been proposed to boost the immune system of infected patients with HIV vaccines and to help limit the use of anti-retroviral treatments. This perspective article reviews the crucial questions raised by such a strategy and the main international efforts that are already set up to provide rapid answers — in particular, a not-for-profit international network that is dedicated to the development of therapeutic immunization programmes against HIV.

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Figure 1: Aims of therapeutic immunization against HIV.
Figure 2: Typical design for a clinical trial of therapeutic immunization against HIV.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Laboratoire d'Immunologie Cellulaire, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pitié-Salpétrière, Paris, 75651, France

    Brigitte Autran & Patrice Debré,

  2. the Massachusetts General Hospital and Division of AIDS, Partners AIDS Research Center, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02129, USA

    Bruce Walker

  3. the Service de Maladies Infectieuses, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pitié-Salpétrière, Paris, 75651, France

    Christine Katlama

Authors
  1. Brigitte Autran
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  2. Patrice Debré,
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  3. Bruce Walker
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  4. Christine Katlama
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brigitte Autran.

Related links

Related links

DATABASES

Entrez

HIV-1

SIV

LocusLink

IL-2

FURTHER INFORMATION

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative

The joint UN programme on HIV/AIDS

WHO initiative on HIV/AIDS

HIV vaccine trials network

Glossary

ANTIGENIC SIN

A 'footprint' of immune responses is established during first exposure to a virus, and the same specific memory T-cell populations are preferentially re-expanded when re-exposed to the same antigen, thereby limiting the clonal expansion of new specific T cells. A similar mechanism has been proposed for B-cell responses.

AUTO-VACCINATION

Stimulation of the immune system with autologous virus during brief interruptions of anti-retroviral treatment.

LIPODYSTROPHIES

Abnormalities of body-fat distribution that occur during prolonged treatments with combined anti-retroviral drugs.

MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Infarction of the myocardial tissue that is secondary to thrombosis of some of the coronary arteries, occurring on atherosclerosis plaques as a consequence of lipid accumulation during prolonged treatments with combined anti-retroviral therapies.

SET POINT

The lowest stable virus load that is achieved after primary infection, thought to correspond to a quasi-equilibrium.

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Autran, B., Debré,, P., Walker, B. et al. Therapeutic vaccines against HIV need international partnerships. Nat Rev Immunol 3, 503–509 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri1107

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