Most experimental HIV-1 subunit vaccines are delivered by needle injection into muscle. Unfortunately, this route of delivery does not induce mucosal immune responses which is a major limitation for vaccines designed to protect against pathogens spread predominantly through sexual contact. The research we propose is focused on the use of a new, synthetic nonionic block copolymer, termed 'Optivax' to deliver experimental HIV-1 subunit vaccines orally and thus, to mucosal sites. The Optivax polymer has many physico-chemical properties that support its use in vaccines designed for oral delivery. These include resistance to acidic conditions and proteolytic degradation, lack of toxicity, capability of being formulated into micron-sized particles and/or simple emulsions and potent adjuvant activity. The short-term goals of our research are to evaluate numerous Optivax formulations that we will design for oral delivery and that will contain one or more experimental HIV-1 vaccine immunogens in mice. The experimental end-point will be the induction of mucosal immune responses. The ability to induce systemic immunity will be evaluated once active formulations are identified. The long-term goal is to develop one or more Optivax vaccine delivery and adjuvant formulations that can be tested in nonhuman primates and humans.Proposed commercial application:Vaccine for HIV-1 represents the most likely application. However, the technology may also be suitable for use in other types of vaccines where oral administration is desirable and mucosal immunity is needed.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
