The abandonment of several pivotal trials of putative AIDS vaccines has generated an atmosphere of considerable pessimism in the field, but a new primate study, conducted by researchers from Wellcome Research Laboratories and others in the UK, has provided some optimistic data.
The researchers have successfully protected eight cynomolgous macaques from cell-free and cell-associated simian immunodeficinacy virus using a live, attenuated SIV-based vaccine, according to a report in The Lancet (May 27). Eight control monkeys all succumbed to infection after challenge. In this animal model, immunization with subunit or recombinant immunogens have not generally been successful in preventing infection, a situation that draws parallels with the disappointing experience with subunit vaccines in humans.
Safety Issues Clearly, there are some important obstacles against the use of live, attenuated virus vaccine in humans. The danger of the virus reverting to virulence has to be taken seriously, particularly as HIV has a high rate of replication and an established high generation rate of antigenic and drug-resistant mutants. There is also the danger of other target cells, such as neurons in the central nervous system, becoming infected and showing pathological effects in the long-term, notes an editorial accompanying the study.
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