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  • Perspective
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Vaccines that stimulate T cell immunity to HIV-1: the next step

Nature Immunology volume 15, pages 319–322 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

The search for a vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has many hurdles to overcome. Ideally, the stimulation of both broadly neutralizing antibodies and cell-mediated immune responses remains the best option, but no candidate in clinical trials at present has elicited such antibodies, and efficacy trials have not demonstrated any benefit for vaccines designed to stimulate immune responses of CD8+ T cells. Findings obtained with the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) monkey model have provided new evidence that stimulating effective CD8+ T cell immunity could provide protection, and in this Perspective we explore the path forward for optimizing such responses in humans.

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Figure 1: Control of SIV or HIV-1 by vaccines that stimulate CTLs.
Figure 2: Vaccines that deal with HIV-1 variability.

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Acknowledgements

Supported by the Medical Research Council UK, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the US National Institutes of Health, the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery (UM1 AI 00645) and donors to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (including the US Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the US National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

    Andrew J McMichael

  2. International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, New York, New York, USA

    Wayne C Koff

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  1. Andrew J McMichael
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  2. Wayne C Koff
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Correspondence to Andrew J McMichael.

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Competing interests

A.J.M. is a named coinventor of a conserved region–containing vaccine against HIV on a patent owned by Medical Research Council Technology, and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (of which W.C.K. is the Chief Scientific Officer) has supported clinical research on such vaccines.

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McMichael, A., Koff, W. Vaccines that stimulate T cell immunity to HIV-1: the next step. Nat Immunol 15, 319–322 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2844

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