Inactivated HIV-1 Conjugated to Nanospheres Induces Vaginal IgA -- HIV/AIDS INFO AND UPDATES

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Date Posted: 22:19:00 02/28/02 Thu
Author: Anonymous
Subject: Inactivated HIV-1 Conjugated to Nanospheres Induces Vaginal IgA

Inactivated HIV-1 Conjugated to Nanospheres Induces Vaginal IgA

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 21 - Japanese researchers appear to have developed a novel and successful HIV vaccine strategy, in which concanavalin A (Con A) is immobilized on the surface of polystyrene nanospheres. The high affinity of Con A for the oligosaccharide chains of the HIV envelope induces a tight bonding of the virus to the spheres.

In a study reported in the March issue of the Journal of Medical Virology, Dr. Masanori Baba, of Kagoshima University, and associates produced the vaccine using heat-inactivated HIV. They then intravaginally immunized mice with the vaccine, with heat-inactivated HIV alone and with Con A nanospheres alone.

Vaginal fluids collected after immunization showed IgA antibody response only in the mice immunized with HIV conjugated to nanospheres. The vaginal fluids from these mice showed neutralizing activity against the immunizing HIV strain.

Con A alone caused erosions in the uterine endometrium of five of seven mice, while Con A absorbed to the nanospheres along with HIV caused only one case of erosion among four mice. The researchers therefore concluded that the toxicity of Con A was reduced by its conjugation with the nanospheres.

"The conjugation of HIV-1 with Con A-nanospheres could prevent the degradation of the viral antigens and keep them in the pocket of the vaginal lumen for a considerable period of time," the investigators suggest. To generate broad responsiveness against a range of HIV-1, conjugation of several HIV strains to the Con A nanospheres may be required, they add.

J Med Virol 2002;66:291-298.

Reuters Health Information 2002. � 2002 Reuters Ltd
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