Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

An engineered poliovirus chimaera elicits broadly reactive HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies

Abstract

THE Sabin type 1 vaccine strain of poliovirus is probably the safest and most successful live-attenuated vaccine virus used in humans. Its widespread use since the early 1960s has contributed significantly to the virtual eradication of poliomyelitis in developed countries. We have reported previously the construction of an intertypic antigen chimaera of poliovirus, based on the Sabin 1 strain, and proposed that this virus could be modified to express on its surface antigenic determinants from other pathogens1. We describe here the construction and characterization of a poliovirus antigen chimaera containing an epitope from the transmembrane glycoprotein (gp41) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). In antibody absorption experiments, the virus chimaera inhibited neutralization of HIV-1 by antipeptide monoclonal antibodies specific for the gp41 epitope and significantly reduced the group specific neutralizing activity of HIV-1-positive human sera. Rabbit antisera raised by subcutaneous injection of the polio/HIV chimaera in adjuvant was shown to be specific for HIV-1 gp41 in peptide-binding assays and by western blotting. Moreover, the antisera neutralized a wide range of American and African HIV-1 isolates and also inhibited virus-induced cell fusion. Monoclonal antibodies against the HIV-1 derived regions of the chimaera also neutralized HIV-1. These results establish the potential of using poliovirus for the presentation of foreign antigens and suggest that Sabin 1 poliovirus/HIV chimaeras could offer an approach to the development of ah HIV vaccine.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Burke, K. L., Dunn, G., Ferguson, M., Minor, P. D. & Almond, J. W. Nature 332, 81–82 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Martin, A. et al. EMBO J. 7, 2839–2847 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Murray, M. G. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 3203–3207 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Minor, P. D., Ferguson, M., Evans, D. M. A., Almond, J. W. & Icenogle, J. P. J. gen. Virol. 67, 1283–1291 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Hogle, J. M., Chow, M. & Filman, D. J. Science 229, 1358–1365 (1985).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Modrow, S. et al. J. Virol. 61, 570–578 (1987).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Starcich, B. R. et al. Cell 45, 637–648 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Weiss, R. A. et al. Nature 324, 572–575 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ho, D. D., Kaplan, J. C., Rackauskas, I. E. & Gurney, M. E. Science 239, 1021–1023 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Kennedy, R. C. et al. Science 231, 1556–1559 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Chanh, T. C. et al. EMBO J. 5, 3065–3071 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Dalgleish, A. G. et al. Virology 165, 209–215 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Ferguson, M. et al. J. gen. Virol. 65, 197–201 (1984).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Murray, M. G. et al. Science 241, 213–215 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Minor, P. D., Pipkin, P. A., Hockley, D., Schild, G. C. & Almond, J. W. Virus Res. 1, 203–212 (1984).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Thomas, E. K. et al. AIDS 2, 25–30 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Linsley, P. S., Ledbetter, J. A., Kinney-Thomas, E. & Shiu-Lok, H. J. Virol. 62, 3695–3702 (1988).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Clapham, P. R. et al. Virology 158, 44–51 (1987).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Francis, M. J. et al. Nature 300, 168–170 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Zagury, D. et al Nature 332, 728–731 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Chakrabarti, S., Robert-Guroff, M., Wong-Staal, F., Gallo, R. C. & Moss, B. Nature 320, 535–537 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Michel, M-L. et al. Proc. natn. Acad Sci. U.S.A. 85, 7957–7961 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Ogra, P. L. & Ogra, S. S. J. Immun. 110, 1307–1311 (1973).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Harada, S. et al. Science 229, 563–565 (1985).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Ratner, L. et al. Nature 313, 277–284 (1986).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. van der Werf, S., Bradley, J., Wimmer, E., Studier, F. W. & Dunn, J. J. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 5080–5084 (1983).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Rico-Hesse, R., Pallansch, M. A., Nottay, B. K. & Kew, O. M. Virology 160, 311–322 (1987).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Evans, D., McKeating, J., Meredith, J. et al. An engineered poliovirus chimaera elicits broadly reactive HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies. Nature 339, 385–388 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/339385a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/339385a0

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing