Independent evaluation of IFN-and IL-2 required CD4cy5.5PE and CD8QDot655 conjugation (for details, see http://drmr.com/abcon) in combination with CD3cy7APC, IFN-FITC, and IL-2 Desmopressin Acetate APC (BDIS). over time, with a diminished frequency of interferon-= 10) or vaccine at doses of 2 mg (= 5), 4 mg (= 20), or 8 mg (= 15). Safety reviews were conducted in both the 2-mg and 4-mg groups (5 vaccine recipients and 2 placebo recipients) before randomizing the remaining 36 subjects to the 4-mg, 8-mg, or placebo groups. The NIAID Intramural Data and Safety Monitoring Board conducted safety reviews for the dose escalation from 4 to 8 mg as well as at 6-month intervals throughout the study. Injections (1 mL/injection) were administered on day 0 and at weeks 4 and 8. Arms were alternated for sequential vaccinations, except for the delivery of the 8-mg dose of vaccine, which required 1-mL injections of 4 mg into both arms. Evaluations included laboratory tests, physical assessments by clinicians, and self-assessment for local and systemic symptoms recorded on 7-day diary cards. Adverse events were graded for severity by use of a preapproved table that incorporated a 5-point scale and were coded by use of Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities terminology. HIV testing was done by RNA polymerase chain reaction (Roche Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Test) and ELISA (Abbott HIVAB HIV-1/HIV-2 rDNA); Western blotting (Genetic Systems HIV Western blot kit; BioRad Laboratories; performed at the Mayo Laboratory, Rochester, MN) was done if ELISA results were positive. The social impact of participating in an HIV vaccine study was monitored. Vaccine The vaccine, VRC-HIVDNA009-00-VP, was developed by the VRC and is manufactured by Vical; it is composed of 4 closed, circular, DNA plasmids at a concentration of either 2 mg/mL or 4 mg/mL (figure 1). The plasmid expressing clade B HIV-1 Gag-Pol-Nef fusion polyproteins comprised 50% of the vaccine by weight. The plasmids expressing Env glycoprotein from clades A, B, and C each comprised 16.67% of the vaccine by weight. Before formulation of the vaccine product, expression levels of individual plasmids were assessed semiquantitatively by Western blot densitometry and were compared with standards run under the same conditions. Preclinical testing demonstrated the product to have an acceptable safety profile [13, 14]. Open in a separate window Figure 1 Schematic of the DNA vaccine design. Four separate DNA plasmids were produced by inserting individual HIV-1 gene constructs into the pVR1012 backbone under the control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate-early (IE) promoter, followed by the bovine growth hormone polyadenylation (bGH poly A) sequence [3, 12]. The synthetic gene is from the clade B strain HXB2 (GenBank accession no. “type”:”entrez-nucleotide”,”attrs”:”text”:”K03455″,”term_id”:”1906382″K03455), the synthetic gene is from the clade B strain NL4-3 (GenBank accession no. “type”:”entrez-nucleotide”,”attrs”:”text”:”M19921″,”term_id”:”296556485″M19921), and the synthetic gene is from the clade B strain PV22 (GenBank accession no. “type”:”entrez-nucleotide”,”attrs”:”text”:”M19921″,”term_id”:”296556485″M19921). Mutations Desmopressin Acetate (indicated by Xs), including the deletion of the carboxy-terminus of Gag (indicated BMP7 by the triangle), were introduced in the protease and reverse-transcriptase genes to prevent processing of the gene products and to reduce the potential for functional enzymatic activity. This resulted in a fusion protein that directly reads through the frame shift in Gag (F2) through Pol and into Nef. This gene product is not able to Desmopressin Acetate assemble or produce pseudoparticles. To create synthetic gp145, versions of the envelope genes were truncated immediately downstream of the transmembrane domain of gp41. In each construct, the cleavage site and fusion peptide at the junction of gp120 and gp41 were deleted, and a portion of the interspace between the 2 heptad-repeat regions in gp41 was deleted. The Env gene products are primarily cell associated rather than secreted. The EnvA sequence is from 92rw020 (CCR5 tropic; GenBank accession no. “type”:”entrez-nucleotide”,”attrs”:”text”:”U08794″,”term_id”:”495480″U08794), the EnvB series is normally from HXB2 (CXCR4 tropic; GenBank accession no. “type”:”entrez-nucleotide”,”attrs”:”text”:”K03455″,”term_id”:”1906382″K03455), as well as the EnvC sequence is normally from 97ZA012 (CCR5 tropic; GenBank.