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HIV vaccine elicits anti-V1V2 IgG antibody response in infants
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Two investigational HIV vaccines strengthen a critical immune response in infants born to mothers with HIV, a new analysis of two previously completed trials suggests.
Genevieve Fouda, MD, PhD, of Duke University, and colleagues analyzed data from the PACTG 230 and PACTG 326 trials to look for evidence of anti-V1V2 immunoglobulin G antibody responses — a newly identified mechanism that protects against HIV. The results were presented at the AIDS Vaccine 2013 Conference in Barcelona, Spain.
Although infants born to mothers with HIV have maternally acquired anti-V1V2 IgG antibodies, those who were vaccinated had better and longer-lasting immune responses than those who were given a placebo vaccine, the researchers found.
“Effective infant HIV vaccination may be affected by the presence of maternal HIV-specific antibodies and the immaturity of the infant immune system,” Fouda said in a press release. “Our findings suggest that vaccination of infants born to HIV-infected mothers can elicit a robust anti-HIV envelope IgG immune response.”
The PACTG 230 trial involved 105 infants born to mothers with HIV who were given four doses of recombinant glycoprotein (rgp) 120-MN/aluminum hydroxide (VaxGen; n=49), rgp120-SF2/MF59 (Chiron; n=47) or placebo (n=19) at age 0 to 20 weeks.
The PACTG 326 trial involved 20 infants born to mothers with HIV who were given four doses of ALVAC-HIV Vcp1452 vaccine (Sanofi-Pasteur) plus AIDSVAX B/B (VaxGen; n=9) or placebo (n=11) at 0 to 12 weeks.
Similar to results from adult studies, infant HIV vaccination can elicit cross-clade envelope-specific IgG and anti-V1V2 IgG responses, the researchers found. No IgA antibodies were detected in infants. The Chiron vaccine elicited higher anti-V1V2 IgG responses than the adult RV144 HIV vaccine, the researchers found.
These findings highlight the importance of including pediatric populations in HIV vaccine studies, Fouda said.
“Antiretroviral drugs have reduced the rate of mother-to-child transmission rate in the United States below 2%, but, overall, in low- and middle-income countries, less than 60% of known HIV infected women receive drugs to prevent transmission to their infants. Immune-based interventions such as a vaccine are needed to eliminate pediatric HIV,” she said.
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