ABSTRACT
We have characterized the humoral and cellular immune responses of BALB/c mice immunized with HIV-1 Nef regulatory protein encapsulated in poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) PLG particles. Three groups of mice were immunized with Nef PLG, Nef in the presence of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) or Nef alone in PBS. When titers were compared 7 months after the last injection, anti-Nef titers in mice immunized with Nef PLG were still close to the maximum, whereas a significant decrease was observed in mice immunized with Nef alone (five times lower) or with Nef in CFA (three times lower). These results indicate that Nef PLG is at least a similar or better vector/adjuvant than Nef in CFA concerning the duration of the humoral immune response. The analysis of cytokine profiles (IL-5 and IL-10) and the isotypic patterns of anti-Nef antibodies (predominantly IgG1), in the three groups of mice, indicated a predominant Th2 immune response. Using synthetic peptides covering the entire sequence of Nef, we identified at least three linear epitopes within sequences 32-64, 118-167 and 185-205 in the sera of mice immunized with Nef PLG or Nef CFA. In contrast, anti-Nef antibodies against Nef alone failed to recognize synthetic peptides, indicating that the majority of anti-Nef antibodies were primarily directed against conformational epitopes. We then examined the ability of Nef PLG to prime for the antigen-specific proliferative responses in vitro. The data obtained indicate the presence of both B-cell and T-cell epitopes in the C-terminal fragment of the protein after immunization of mice with Nef encapsulated in PLG particles.
