Generation and characterization of a bivalent protein boost for future clinical trials: HIV-1 subtypes CR01_AE and B gp120 antigens with a potent adjuvant.
Yingxia WenHung V TrinhChristine E LintonChiara TaniNathalie NoraisDeeAnn Martinez-GuzmanPriyanka RameshYide SunFrank SituSelen Karaca-GriffinChristopher HamlinSayali OnkarSai TianSusan HiltPadma MalyalaRushit LodayaNing LiGillis OttenGiuseppe PalladinoKristian FriedrichYukti AggarwalCelia LaBrancheRyan DuffyXiaoying ShenGeorgia D TomarasDavid C MontefioriWilliam FulpRaphael GottardoBrian BurkeJeffrey B UlmerSusan Zolla-PaznerHua-Xin LiaoBarton F HaynesNelson L MichaelJerome H KimMangala RaoRobert J O'ConnellAndrea CarfiSusan W BarnettPublished in: PloS one (2018)
The RV144 Phase III clinical trial with ALVAC-HIV prime and AIDSVAX B/E subtypes CRF01_AE (A244) and B (MN) gp120 boost vaccine regime in Thailand provided a foundation for the future development of improved vaccine strategies that may afford protection against the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Results from this trial showed that immune responses directed against specific regions V1V2 of the viral envelope (Env) glycoprotein gp120 of HIV-1, were inversely correlated to the risk of HIV-1 infection. Due to the low production of gp120 proteins in CHO cells (2-20 mg/L), cleavage sites in V1V2 loops (A244) and V3 loop (MN) causing heterogeneous antigen products, it was an urgent need to generate CHO cells harboring A244 gp120 with high production yields and an additional, homogenous and uncleaved subtype B gp120 protein to replace MN used in RV144 for the future clinical trials. Here we describe the generation of Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell lines stably expressing vaccine HIV-1 Env antigens for these purposes: one expressing an HIV-1 subtype CRF01_AE A244 Env gp120 protein (A244.AE) and one expressing an HIV-1 subtype B 6240 Env gp120 protein (6240.B) suitable for possible future manufacturing of Phase I clinical trial materials with cell culture expression levels of over 100 mg/L. The antigenic profiles of the molecules were elucidated by comprehensive approaches including analysis with a panel of well-characterized monoclonal antibodies recognizing critical epitopes using Biacore and ELISA, and glycosylation analysis by mass spectrometry, which confirmed previously identified glycosylation sites and revealed unknown sites of O-linked and N-linked glycosylations at non-consensus motifs. Overall, the vaccines given with MF59 adjuvant induced higher and more rapid antibody (Ab) responses as well as higher Ab avidity than groups given with aluminum hydroxide. Also, bivalent proteins (A244.AE and 6240.B) formulated with MF59 elicited distinct V2-specific Abs to the epitope previously shown to correlate with decreased risk of HIV-1 infection in the RV144 trial. All together, these results provide critical information allowing the consideration of these candidate gp120 proteins for future clinical evaluations in combination with a potent adjuvant.
Keyphrases
- antiretroviral therapy
- human immunodeficiency virus
- clinical trial
- hiv infected
- hiv positive
- phase iii
- hepatitis c virus
- hiv testing
- hiv aids
- men who have sex with men
- phase ii
- mycobacterium tuberculosis
- open label
- early stage
- current status
- immune response
- mass spectrometry
- study protocol
- binding protein
- double blind
- south africa
- gold nanoparticles
- protein protein
- healthcare
- randomized controlled trial
- cell death
- endothelial cells
- metal organic framework
- cell cycle arrest
- small molecule
- toll like receptor
- cell proliferation
- amino acid
- placebo controlled
- drug induced
- high performance liquid chromatography
- oxidative stress