Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology – Measuring or testing process involving enzymes or... – Involving antigen-antibody binding – specific binding protein...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-27
2001-12-18
Park, Hankyel T. (Department: 1648)
Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology
Measuring or testing process involving enzymes or...
Involving antigen-antibody binding, specific binding protein...
C424S188100, C424S208100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06331404
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the rational design and preparation of HIV vaccines based on HIV envelope polypeptides and the resultant vaccines. This invention further relates to improved methods for HIV serotyping and immunogens which induce antibodies useful in the serotyping methods.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by a retrovirus identified as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There have been intense effort to develop a vaccine. These efforts have focused on inducing antibodies to the HIV envelope protein. Recent efforts have used subunit vaccines where an HIV protein, rather than attenuated or killed virus, is used as the immunogen in the vaccine for safety reasons. Subunit vaccines generally include gp120, the portion of the HIV envelope protein which is on the surface of the virus.
The HIV envelope protein has been extensively described, and the amino acid and RNA sequences encoding HIV envelope from a number of HIV strains are known (Myers, G. et al., 1992. Human Retroviruses and AIDS. A compilation and analysis of nucleic acid and amino acid sequences. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex.). The HIV envelope protein is a glycoprotein of about 160 kd (gp160) which is anchored in the membrane bilayer at its carboxyl terminal region. The N-terminal segment, gp120, protrudes into the aqueous environment surrounding the virion and the C-terminal segment, gp41, spans the membrane. Via a host-cell mediated process, gp160 is cleaved to form gp120 and the integral membrane protein gp41. As there is no covalent attachment between gp120 and gp41, free gp120is released from the surface of virions and infected cells.
The gp120 molecule consists of a polypeptide core of 60,000 daltons which is extensively modified by N-linked glycosylation to increase the apparent molecular weight of the molecule to 120,000 daltons. The amino acid sequence of gp120 contains five relatively conserved domains interspersed with five hypervariable domains. The positions of the 18 cysteine residues in the gp120 primary sequence, and the positions of 13 of the approximately 24 N-linked glycosylation sites in the gp120 sequence are common to all gp120 sequences. The hypervariable domains contain extensive amino acid substitutions, insertions and deletions. Sequence variations in these domains result in up to 30% overall sequence variability between gp120 molecules from the various viral isolates. Despite this variation, all gp120 sequences preserve the virus's ability to bind to the viral receptor CD4 and to interact with gp41 to induce fusion of the viral and host cell membranes.
gp120 has been the object of intensive investigation as a vaccine candidate for subunit vaccines, as the viral protein which is most likely to be accessible to immune attack. gp120 is considered to be a good candidate for a subunit vaccine, because (i) gp120 is known to possess the CD4 binding domain by which HIV attaches to its target cells, (ii) HIV infectivity can be neutralized in vitro by antibodies to gp 120, (iii) the majority of the in vitro neutralizing activity present in the serum of HIV infected individuals can be removed with a gp120 affinity column, and (iv) the gp120/gp41 complex appears to be essential for the transmission of HIV by cell-to-cell fusion.
The identification of epitopes recognized by virus neutralizing antibodies is critical for the rational design of vaccines effective against HIV-1 infection. one way in which antibodies would be expected to neutralize HIV-1 infection is by blocking the binding of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein, gp120, to its cellular receptor, CD4. However, it has been surprising that the CD4 blocking activity, readily demonstrated in sera from HIV-1 infected individuals (31, 44) and animals immunized with recombinant envelope glycoproteins (1-3), has not always correlated with neutralizing activity (2, 31, 44). Results obtained with monoclonal antibodies have shown that while some of the monoclonal antibodies that block the binding of gp120 to CD4 possess neutralizing activity, others do not (4, 7, 16, 26, 33, 35, 43, 45). When the neutralizing activity of CD4 blocking monoclonal antibodies are compared to those directed to the principal neutralizing determinant (PND) located in the third variable domain (V3 domain) of gp120 (10, 39), the CD4 blocking antibodies appear to be significantly less potent. Thus, CD4 blocking monoclonal antibodies typically exhibit 50% inhibitory concentration values (IC
50
) in the 1-10 &mgr;g/ml range (4, 16, 26, 33, 35, 43, 45) whereas PND directed monoclonal antibodies typically exhibit IC
50
values in the 0.1 to 1.0 &mgr;g/ml range (23, 33, 42).
Subunit vaccines, based on gp120 or another viral protein, that can effectively induce antibodies that neutralize HIV are still being sought. However, to date no vaccine has not been effective in conferring protection against HIV infection.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART
Recombinant subunit vaccines are described in Berman et al., PCT/US91/02250 (published as number WO91/15238 on Oct. 17, 1991). See also, e.g. Hu et al.,
Nature
328:721-724 (1987) (vaccinia virus-HIV envelope recombinant vaccine); Arthur et al.,
J. Virol.
63(12): 5046-5053 (1989) (purified gp120); and Berman et al.,
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
85:5200-5204 (1988) (recombinant envelope glycoprotein gp120).
Numerous sequences for gp120 are known. The sequence of gp120 from the IIIB substrain of HIV-1
LAI
referred to herein is that determined by Muesing et al., “Nucleic acid structure and expression of the human AIDS/lymphadenopathy retrovirus,
Nature
313:450-458 (1985). The sequences of gp120 from the NY-5, Jrcsf, Z6, Z321, and HXB2 strains of HIV-1 are listed by Myers et al., “Human Retroviruses and AIDS; A compilation and analysis of nucleic acid and amino acid sequences,” Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex. (1992). The sequence of the Thai isolate A244 is provided by McCutchan et al., “Genetic Variants of HIV-1 in Thailand,”
AIDS Res. and Human Retroviruses
8:1887-1895 (1992). The MN
1984
clone is described by Gurgo et al., “Envelope sequences of two new United States HIV-1 isolates,”
Virol.
164: 531-536 (1988). The amino acid sequence of this MN clone differs by approximately 2% from the MN-gp120 clone (MN
GNE
) disclosed herein and obtained by Berman et al.
Each of the above-described references is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method for the rational design and preparation of vaccines based on HIV envelope polypeptides. This invention is based on the discovery that there are neutralizing epitopes in the V2 and C4 domains of gp120, in addition to the neutralizing epitopes in the V3 domain. In addition, the amount of variation of the neutralizing epitopes is highly constrained, facilitating the design of an HIV subunit vaccine that can induce antibodies that neutralize a plurality of HIV strains for a given geographic region.
In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for making an HIV gp120 subunit vaccine for a geographic region in which a neutralizing epitope in the V2 and/or C4 domains of gp120 of HIV isolates from the geographic region is determined and an HIV strain having gp120 which has a neutralizing epitope in the V2 or C4 domain which is common among isolates in the geographic region is selected and used to make the vaccine.
In a preferred embodiment of the method, neutralizing epitopes for the V2, V3, and C4 domains of gp120 from HIV isolates from the geographic region are determined. At least two HIV isolates having different neutralizing epitopes in the V2, V3, or C4 domain are selected and used to make the HIV gp120 subunit vaccine. Preferably, each of the selected isolates have one of the most common neutralizing epitopes for the V2, V3, or C4 domains.
The invention also provides a multivalent HIV gp120 subunit vaccine. The vaccine comprises gp120 from two isolates of HIV having at least one different neut
Berman Phillip W.
Nakamura Gerald R.
Genentech Inc.
Haliday Emily M.
Park Hankyel T.
The Law Offices of Jonathan Alan Quine
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