Efficient augmentation of a long-lasting immune responses in HIV-1 gag DNA vaccination by IL-15 plasmid boosting

Cytokines are major regulators of the immune response, and have been used as adjuvants to improve vaccine potency. In this study, we investigated the adjuvant effects of interleukin (IL)-15 on improving the immunogenicity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 gag DNA vaccine in Balb/c mice. During a 370-day follow-up, cellular and humoral immune responses in three separate cohorts of mice were monitored. These results were exemplified through: lymphocyte proliferation, induction of antigen-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes, long-term production of specific antibodies, and proportion of differentiated memory CD8+ T cells. These data revealed that just boost of IL-15 at day 8 after co-immunization induced more homeostatic cell proliferation, augmented proliferation frequency of IFN-γ-secreting antigen-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes, maintained the long-lasting humoral immune response and promoted the turnover of memory T cell precursors into central memory T cells. Taken together, our data demonstrated that a single IL-15 boosting can enhance both the humoral and cellular immune responses of the HIV-1 gag DNA vaccination. This novel boosting strategy may facilitate the application of IL-15 as an adjuvant for HIV vaccination.