NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A vaccine based on a replication-defective strain of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) with deleted genes, rapidly induces virus specific CD8+ T-cell responses in mice and guinea pigs, researchers report in the January issue of the Journal of Virology.
Dr. Stephen E. Straus of Harvard Medical School, Boston and colleagues compared the performance of this novel vaccine, dl5-29, with that of a recombinant glycoprotein D (gD2) vaccine, which has already been tested in humans, and a plasmid-expressing gD2 vaccine.
Both dl15-29 and the gD2 vaccine were highly effective in attenuating acute and recurrent disease and reducing latent viral load. The vaccines did better than the plasmid vaccine in these areas and also in treating established infections.
However, dl5-29 was superior to the gD2 vaccine in inducing neutralizing antibody titers and in accumulating HSV-2 specific CD8+ T cells after challenge with wild-type virus.
“Based upon dl15-29’s biological and immunological properties,” Dr. Straus, comments in a statement, “it appears to be the most compelling new vaccine candidate for genital herpes.”
Source: J Virol 2005:79. [ Google search on this article ]
MeSH Headings:Biological Sciences: Biology: Genetics: Immunogenetics: Recombinant Proteins: Vaccines, Synthetic: Biological SciencesCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
