Abstract
In a continuing effort to develop safe and efficacious vaccine and immunotherapeutic vectors, we constructed recombinant vaccinia virus (rVV) vaccines lacking either the B13R (SPI-2) or the B22R (SPI-1) immune-modulating gene and coexpressing IFN-γ. B13R and B22R are nonessential VV immune-modulating genes that have antiapoptotic and antiinflammatory properties with sequence homology to serine protease inhibitors (serpins). IFN-γ is a cytokine with potent immunoregulatory, antineoplastic, and antiviral properties. We observed that these rVVs with a deletion in a serpin gene and expressing IFN-γ replicated to high titers in tissue culture yet were avirulent in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent mice with no detectable viral replication in these animals. A single immunization elicited potent humoral, T helper, and cytotoxic T cell immune responses in mice despite the absence of any detectable virus replication in vivo. IFN-γ coexpression and the inactivation of one or more VV immune-modulating genes provide an optimized method for increasing the safety while maintaining the efficacy of rVV vaccines. This strategy provides a method for developing highly safe and efficacious vaccines for smallpox and other diseases and immunotherapeutic vectors.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2940-2945 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 102 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 22 2005 |
Keywords
- Efficacy immune-modulating genes
- Safety
- Smallpox
- Vaccines
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Genetics
- General