IL-15 increases the frequency of effector memory CD8+ T cells in rhesus monkeys immunized with HIV vaccine |
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| Authors: | Shirui Li Xiangrong Qi Yingying Gao Yanling Hao Lianxian Cui Li Ruan Wei He |
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| Affiliation: | 1.Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China;2.National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing, China;3.Division of Virology and Immunology, National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China |
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| Abstract: | Several studies have suggested that interleukin (IL)-15 is a promising adjuvant that promotes cellular immunity when administered with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine. Here we evaluated the effect of IL-15 plasmid on HIV-specific immune responses, especially cellular immunity, in eight rhesus monkeys. These monkeys were immunized three times with HIV DNA vaccine with or without IL-15 plasmid and boosted with recombinant Tiantan strain vaccinia virus-based HIV vaccine (rTV) 22 weeks after the first immunization. Although we did not detect any significant differences in the HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell response between monkeys with IL-15 coimmunization and monkeys with HIV vaccine alone, our results showed that the frequency of effector CD8+ memory T cells in the peripheral blood was significantly higher in monkeys with IL-15 coimmunization than those with HIV vaccine alone at almost all of the time points examined. Furthermore, the titers of anti-HIV antibodies were higher in Group T than those in Group C after rTV boosting. These findings in rhesus monkeys suggest that IL-15 may be useful as a cytokine adjuvant for HIV vaccine. |
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| Keywords: | adjuvant, effector memory CD8+ T cell, HIV vaccine, IL-15 |
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