Therapeutic vaccination with a trivalent T-cell receptor (TCR) peptide vaccine restores deficient FoxP3 expression and TCR recognition in subjects with multiple sclerosis.

Therapeutic vaccination using T-cell receptor (TCR) peptides from V genes commonly expressed by potentially pathogenic T cells remains an approach of interest for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. We developed a trivalent TCR vaccine containing complementarity determining region (CDR) 2 peptides from BV5S2, BV6S5 and BV13S1 emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant that reliably induced high frequencies of TCR-specific T cells. To evaluate induction of regulatory T-cell subtypes, immunological and clinical parameters were followed in 23 treatment-naïve subjects with relapsing-remitting or progressive MS who received 12 monthly injections of the trivalent peptide vaccine over 1 year in an open-label study design.

Impact of therapeutic immunization on HIV-1 viremia after discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy initiated during acute infection.

Treatment strategies that would induce durable virological control of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 in the absence of continued antiretroviral therapy (ART) are highly desirable.METHODS. We assessed, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, whether the addition of therapeutic vaccines (ALVAC-HIV [vCP1452] or ALVAC-HIV and Remune) to ART initiated during acute infection could increase the probability of having a plasma viral load View Article and Find Full Text PDF

HIV-specific immunity during structured antiviral drug treatment interruption.

The immunologic correlates associated with control of viremia in HIV disease are poorly understood. We hypothesized that structured antiviral drug treatment interruptions could be utilized to better understand the relationship between HIV-specific immunity and viral replication. We thus examined the effects of two 8 weeks antiviral structured treatment interruptions (STIs) in a cohort of HIV-1 chronically infected individuals on highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) with (n = 13) and without (n = 12) therapeutic HIV immunizations.