Selected approaches for increasing HIV DNA vaccine immunogenicity in vivo

The safety, stability, and ability for repeat homologous vaccination makes the DNA vaccine platform an excellent candidate for an effective HIV-1 vaccine. However, the immunogenicity of early DNA vaccines did not translate from small animal models into larger non-human primates and was markedly lower than viral vectors. In addition to improvements to the DNA vector itself, delivery with electroporation, the inclusion of molecular adjuvants, and heterologous prime-boost strategies have dramatically improved the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines for HIV and currently makes them a leading platform with many areas warranting further research and clinical development.

► HIV-specific cellular and humoral immune responses are improved by delivering HIV-DNA vaccines with electroporation.
► Co-immunization of a HIV-DNA vaccine with molecular adjuvants can modulate HIV-specific immune responses.
► Heterologous prime-boost strategies with DNA and viral vectors or recombinant protein outperform any single platform.