Huperzine A provides neuroprotection against several cell death inducers using in vitro model systems of motor neuron cell death.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease resulting from the progressive loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. To date, clinically effective neuroprotective agents have not been available. The current study demonstrates for the first time that huperzine A, a potential neuroprotective agent, has the ability to protect a motor neuron-like cell line and motor neurons in spinal cord organotypic cultures from toxin-induced cell death.

Active immunization of patients with HIV infection: a study of the effect of VaxSyn, a recombinant HIV envelope subunit vaccine, on progression of immunodeficiency.

Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leads to a progressive immunodeficiency characterized by decreasing levels of CD4+ T lymphocytes. VaxSyn, a vaccine based on the recombinant envelope glycoprotein subunit (rgp160) of HIV-1IIIB, was used to immunize HIV-infected patients to determine whether its administration was beneficial with respect to slowing disease progression. A 3-year multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, efficacy and safety trial of repeated immunization with VaxSyn was used to evaluate the long-term impact on the progression of immunodeficiency.

Molecular approaches to vaccinating against hookworm disease.

Anthelminthic drug chemotherapy has failed as an acceptable approach to hookworm control in the less developed countries of the tropics. The development of a genetically engineered vaccine against hookworm infection would be a major advance in our efforts to control this parasitic disease. We have produced several lead recombinant hookworm vaccine antigens.

Influenza A virus vaccines containing purified recombinant H3 hemagglutinin are well tolerated and induce protective immune responses in healthy adults.

This study evaluated the safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy of vaccines containing purified recombinant uncleaved hemagglutinin (rHA0) from influenza A/Beijing/32/92 (H3N2) virus. In a randomized, double-blinded trial, 127 adult volunteers were immunized with 15 micrograms of rHA0, 15 micrograms of rHA0 plus alum, 90 micrograms of rHA0, licensed subvirion vaccine, or saline placebo. The rHA0 vaccines caused fewer local adverse reactions than did the commercial subvirion preparation.

Autoreactivity in HIV-infected individuals does not increase during vaccination with envelope rgp160.

The HIV-1 envelope protein contains several regions with amino acid homology to HLA class I and class II molecules. We evaluated possible changes in antibody responses to those regions during vaccination with rgp 160 produced in a baculovirus system. Forty asymptomatic HIV-infected patients with CD4 cell counts above 400 were vaccinated with rgp 160.