A Novel Vaccine Strategy Employing Serologically Different Chimpanzee Adenoviral Vectors for the Prevention of HIV-1 and HCV Coinfection.

Background: Nearly 3 million people worldwide are coinfected with HIV and HCV. Affordable strategies for prevention are needed. We developed a novel vaccination regimen involving replication-defective and serologically distinct chimpanzee adenovirus (ChAd3, ChAd63) vector priming followed by modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) boosts, for simultaneous delivery of HCV non-structural (NSmut) and HIV-1 conserved (HIVconsv) region immunogens. Methods: We conducted a phase I trial in which 33 healthy volunteers were sequentially enrolled and vaccinated via the intramuscular route as follows: 9 received ChAd3-NSmut [2.5 × 1010 vp] and MVA-NSmut [2 × 108 pfu] at weeks 0 and 8, respectively; 8 received ChAdV63.HIVconsv [5 × 1010 vp] and MVA.HIVconsv [2 × 108 pfu] at the same interval; 16 were co-primed with ChAd3-NSmut [2.5 × 1010 vp] and ChAdV63.HIVconsv [5 × 1010 vp] followed at week 8 by MVA-NSmut and MVA.HIVconsv [both 1 × 108 pfu]. Immunogenicity was assessed using peptide pools in ex vivo ELISpot and intracellular cytokine assays. Vaccine-induced whole blood transcriptome changes were assessed by microarray analysis. Results: All vaccines were well tolerated and no vaccine-related serious adverse events occurred. Co-administration of the prime-boost vaccine regimens induced high magnitude and broad T cell responses that were similar to those observed following immunization with either regimen alone. Median (interquartile range, IQR) peak responses to NSmut were 3,480 (2,728-4,464) and 3,405 (2,307-7,804) spot-forming cells (SFC)/106 PBMC for single and combined HCV vaccinations, respectively (p = 0.8). Median (IQR) peak responses to HIVconsv were 1,305 (1,095-4,967) and 1,005 (169-2,482) SFC/106 PBMC for single and combined HIV-1 vaccinations, respectively (p = 0.5). Responses were maintained above baseline to 34 weeks post-vaccination. Intracellular cytokine analysis indicated that the responding populations comprised polyfunctional CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Canonical pathway analysis showed that in the single and combined vaccination groups, pathways associated with antiviral and innate immune responses were enriched for upregulated interferon-stimulated genes 24 h after priming and boosting vaccinations. Conclusions: Serologically distinct adenoviral vectors encoding HCV and HIV-1 immunogens can be safely co-administered without reducing the immunogenicity of either vaccine. This provides a novel strategy for targeting these viruses simultaneously and for other pathogens that affect the same populations. Clinical trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT02362217.

Early growth response gene-2 controls IL-17 expression and Th17 differentiation by negatively regulating Batf.

Early growth response gene (Egr)-2 is important for the maintenance of T cell homeostasis and controls the development of autoimmune disease. However, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We have now discovered that Egr-2, which is induced by TGF-ß and IL-6, negatively regulates the expression of IL-17, but not IL-2 or IFN-γ, in effector T cells. In the absence of Egr-2, CD4 T cells produce high levels of Th17 cytokines, which renders mice susceptible to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis induction. T cells lacking Egr-2 show increased propensity for Th17, but not Th1 or Th2, differentiation. Control of IL-17 expression and Th17 differentiation by Egr-2 is due to inhibition of Batf, a transcription factor that regulates IL-17 expression and Th17 differentiation. Egr-2 interacts with Batf in CD4 T cells and suppresses its interaction with DNA sequences derived from the IL-17 promoter, whereas the activation of STAT3 and expression of retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt are unchanged in Th17 cells in the absence of Egr-2. Thus, Egr-2 plays an important role to intrinsically control Th17 differentiation. We also found that CD4 T cells from multiple sclerosis patients have reduced expression of Egr-2 and increased expression of IL-17 following stimulation with anti-CD3 in vitro. Collectively, our results demonstrate that Egr-2 is an intrinsic regulator that controls Th17 differentiation by inhibiting Batf activation, which may be important for the control of multiple sclerosis development.

The transcription factors Egr2 and Egr3 are essential for the control of inflammation and antigen-induced proliferation of B and T cells.

Lymphocytes provide optimal responses against pathogens with minimal inflammatory pathology. However, the intrinsic mechanisms regulating these responses are unknown. Here, we report that deletion of both transcription factors Egr2 and Egr3 in lymphocytes resulted in a lethal autoimmune syndrome with excessive serum proinflammatory cytokines but also impaired antigen receptor-induced proliferation of B and T cells. Egr2- and Egr3-defective B and T cells had hyperactive signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT1) and STAT3 while antigen receptor-induced activation of transcription factor AP-1 was severely impaired. We discovered that Egr2 and/or Egr3 directly induced expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS1) and SOCS3, inhibitors of STAT1 and STAT3, and also blocked the function of Batf, an AP-1 inhibitor, in B and T cells. Thus, Egr2 and Egr3 regulate B and T cell function in adaptive immune responses and homeostasis by promoting antigen receptor signaling and controlling inflammation.