Project description:The RV144 clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of a vaccine regimen that included ALVAC-HIV prime and AIDSVAX boost in preventing HIV-1 acquisition. The vaccine reduced the risk of HIV-1 acquisition by 31.2%; however the mechanisms that led to the protection induced by this vaccine remain poorly understood. Our objectives were to identify transcriptional correlates and mechanisms that could explain the reduced acquisition conferred by the vaccine. We assessed the transcriptomic profile of HIV Env stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected from 223 participants two weeks after vaccination and from 40 placebo recipients.
Project description:The RV144 clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of a vaccine regimen that included ALVAC-HIV prime and AIDSVAX boost in preventing HIV-1 acquisition. The vaccine reduced the risk of HIV-1 acquisition by 31.2%; however the mechanisms that led to the protection induced by this vaccine remain poorly understood. Our objectives were to identify transcriptional correlates and mechanisms that could explain the reduced acquisition conferred by the vaccine. We assessed the transcriptomic profile of HIV Env stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected from 223 participants two weeks after vaccination and from 40 placebo recipients.
Project description:The RV144 HIV vaccine trial remains the only study to demonstrate significant protection from future HIV-1 acquisition. One of the key components of the RV144 vaccine was the use of the canarypox vector ALVAC as the priming component. Since AIDSVAX, the booster component, alone failed to provide protection we hypothesized that the ALVAC prime contributed significantly to the generation of protection. To test this, we designed a NHP immunogenicity trial to mechanistically link ALVAC vaccination with the magnitude of V1V2 titers, the most significant immune correlate of reduced HIV-1 acquisition in RV144. Our objective was to use a systems biology approach to identify the transcription factors, target genes and immune pathways which were being induced by ALVAC vaccination and associated with higher V1V2 titers. We identified the transcription factor CREB1 and its target genes as rapidly induced by ALVAC in multiple immune subsets and that CREB1 drives the expression and activation of a network of other TFs which are critical for modulating immune responses. Pathways induced by this ALVAC-CREB1 axis include lymphocyte/leukocyte migration, lymphocyte differentiation, antigen processing and presentation, T cell co-stimulation and cytokine signaling.
Project description:The RV144 HIV vaccine trial remains the only study to demonstrate significant protection from future HIV-1 acquisition. One of the key components of the RV144 vaccine was the use of the canarypox vector ALVAC as the priming component. Since AIDSVAX, the booster component, alone failed to provide protection we hypothesized that the ALVAC prime contributed significantly to the generation of protection. To test this, we designed a NHP immunogenicity trial to mechanistically link ALVAC vaccination with the magnitude of V1V2 titers, the most significant immune correlate of reduced HIV-1 acquisition in RV144. Our objective was to use a systems biology approach to identify the transcription factors, target genes and immune pathways which were being induced by ALVAC vaccination and associated with higher V1V2 titers. We identified the transcription factor CREB1 and its target genes as rapidly induced by ALVAC in multiple immune subsets and that CREB1 drives the expression and activation of a network of other TFs which are critical for modulating immune responses. Pathways induced by this ALVAC-CREB1 axis include lymphocyte/leukocyte migration, lymphocyte differentiation, antigen processing and presentation, T cell co-stimulation and cytokine signaling.
Project description:The RV144 HIV vaccine trial remains the only study to demonstrate significant protection from future HIV-1 acquisition. One of the key components of the RV144 vaccine was the use of the canarypox vector ALVAC as the priming component. Since AIDSVAX, the booster component, alone failed to provide protection we hypothesized that the ALVAC prime contributed significantly to the generation of protection. To test this, we designed a NHP immunogenicity trial to mechanistically link ALVAC vaccination with the magnitude of V1V2 titers, the most significant immune correlate of reduced HIV-1 acquisition in RV144. Our objective was to use a systems biology approach to identify the transcription factors, target genes and immune pathways which were being induced by ALVAC vaccination and associated with higher V1V2 titers. We identified the transcription factor CREB1 and its target genes as rapidly induced by ALVAC in multiple immune subsets and that CREB1 drives the expression and activation of a network of other TFs which are critical for modulating immune responses. Pathways induced by this ALVAC-CREB1 axis include lymphocyte/leukocyte migration, lymphocyte differentiation, antigen processing and presentation, T cell co-stimulation and cytokine signaling.
Project description:Using specimens from a phase 1b trial of the RV144 regimen in HIV-1-uninfected South Africans (HVTN 097), we profiled innate responses to the first ALVAC-HIV immunization. PBMC transcriptional responses peaked 1 day post-vaccination. Type I and II interferon signaling pathways were activated, as were innate pathways critical for adaptive immune priming.
Project description:We previously showed in NHP studies that a protective gene signature that was enriched in uninfected monkeys after Ad26/gp140 vaccination also associated with higher magnitude of ADCP (Ehrenberg et al., 2019). In the RV144 human trial a number of immunological parameters were previously measured as part of the immune-correlates analysis, but not ADCP. The RV306 immunogenicity trial that employed a similar prime boost RV144 vaccine regimen with additional late boosts provided us with a unique opportunity to test if the gene signature was associated with ADCP (Pitisuttithum et al., 2020). We generated transcriptome-wide gene expression data from peripheral blood two weeks after the RV144 vaccine regimen (prior to the additional boosts) and assessed for enrichment of the gene signature with the magnitude of ADCP measured at the same timepoint in 24 participants. The gene signature with 118 enriched genes was significantly associated with higher magnitude of ADCP (NES=3.0, P<0.001). Using the same geneset, 93 genes were found to be enriched in a subset of overlapping participants (N=21), where samples were collected 3 days after the RV144 immunizations (NES=2.5, P<0.001).
Project description:Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of dendritic cell (DC) vaccination against HIV-1 on host gene expression profiles. Design: Longitudinal PBMC samples were collected from participants of the DC-TRN trial for immunotherapy against HIV. Microarray-assisted gene expression profiling was performed to evaluate the effects of vaccination and subsequent interruption of antiretroviral therapy on host genome expression. Data from the DC-TRN trial were compared with results from other vaccination trials. Methods: We used Affymetrix GeneChips for microarray gene expression analysis. Data were analyzed by principal component analysis and differential gene expression was assessed using linear modeling. Gene ontology enrichment and gene set analysis were used to characterize differentially expressed genes. Transcriptome analysis included comparison with PBMCs obtained from DC-vaccinated melanoma patients and of healthy individuals who received seasonal influenza vaccination. Results: DC-TRN immunotherapy in HIV-infected individuals resulted in a major shift in the transcriptome. Longitudinal analysis demonstrated that changes in the transcriptome sustained also during interruption of antiretroviral therapy. After DC-vaccination, the transcriptome was enriched for cellular immunity associated genes that were also induced in healthy adults who received live attenuated influenza virus vaccination. These beneficial responses were accompanied by detrimental signals of general immune activation. Conclusions: The DC-TRN induced changes in the transcriptome were profound, lasting, and consisted of both protective signals and signatures of inflammation and immune exhaustion, with a net result of decreased viral load, without clinical benefit. Thus transcriptome analysis provides useful information, dissecting both positive and negative effects, for the evaluation of safety and efficacy of immunotherapeutic strategies.