Construction of DNA vaccine with HIV-1 gag and hIL-2／hIL-6 and its immunological study

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-8861.2001.01.002

Abstract：Objective To study the immunological effects of recombinant HIV-1DNA vaccine plasmids in mice.Methods Two DNA vaccine recombinant plasmids pIRES1-gag-hIL-2，pIRES1-gag-hIL-6 were constructed by inserting the HIV-1 gag and hIL-2／hIL-6 gene into a DNA vaccine expression vector（pIRES1neo）． The expressed product of gag／hIL-2／hIL-6 gene was examined by Dot-ELISA and indirect immunofluorescent assay. Immune response of Balb／c mice immunized by the two DNA vaccine recombinant plasmids was examined by lymphocyte transformation test（LTT），cytotoxic T lymphocyte specific killer test，quantity change of T lymphocyte (CD4+， CD8+) and dynamics of specific serum IgG antibody.Results High effective expression was found in BHK cells transfected with pIRES1-gag-hIL-2，pIRES1-gag-hIL-6. Recombinant plasmids could effectively induce the proliferation of effector lymphocytes and the generation of specific lytic activity in vitro. The effects were more significant when co-expressed with human interleukins gene. Conclusion Cytokine hIL-2／hIL-6 can enhance both humoral and cellular immunity in immunized mice. Constructed recombinant plasmids might provide a basis for the development of HIV-1 DNA vaccine.