An effective AIDS vaccine based on live attenuated vesicular stomatitis virus recombinants

We developed an AIDS vaccine based on attenuated VSV vectors expressing env and gag genes and tested it in rhesus monkeys. Boosting was accomplished u sing vectors with glycoproteins from different VSV serotypes. Animals were challenged with a pathogenic AIDS virus (SHIV89.6P). Control monkeys showed a severe loss of CD4(+) T cells and high viral loads, and 7/8 progressed t o AIDS with an average time of 148 days. All seven vaccinees were initially infected with SHIV89.6P but have remained healthy for up to 14 months afte r challenge with low or undetectable viral loads. Protection from AIDS was highly significant (p=0.001). VSV vectors are promising candidates for huma n AIDS vaccine trials because they propagate to high titers and can be deli vered without injection.