LAUSANNE, Switzerland & MONTPELLIER, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A study published today online in The Journal of Experimental Medicine sheds light on the potential mechanisms responsible for the increased incidence of HIV infection that was observed in the failed STEP HIV vaccine trial in 2007. Through the development of an experimental in vitro model, the study shows that the immune complexes formed by antibodies and the adenovirus vector (the Trojan horse for the delivery of the vaccine) induce a strong activation signal of key cells, i.e. dendritic cells, responsible for the activation of the cellular arm of the immune response including CD4 T-cells, the primary target for HIV. The ultimate result of the activation mediated by antibodies and adenovirus vector complexes is the induction of vigorous replication of HIV in this experimental model.
