Obtaining, characterization and loading of autologous virus by aDC1 dendritic cells for immunotherapy anti-HIV

• Grant number: 19/07976-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2019
• End date: September 30, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Alberto José da Silva Duarte
• Grantee: Luanda Mara da Silva Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/25212-9 - Therapeutic vaccine based on aDC1 dendritic cells pulsed with inactivated autologous virus for the control of viremia after ATI in HIV infected individuals, AP.TEM

Abstract

Despite the success of antiretroviral therapy in controlling and reducing the transmission of HIV infection, there are several problems caused by reliance on this strategy. In this context, therapeutic vaccines offer an alternative for infection control, with the potential to allow structured treatment with interruptions or even to establish functional cure or permanent and controlled suppression of infection. A phase II clinical protocol of a dendritic cell-based therapeutic vaccine (±DC-1) will be performed, including 30 recently diagnosed HIV-1 subjects. The purpose of this study is to isolate and expand patients' viruses, as well as to optimize the process of HIV loading by ±DCs and to evaluate the impact of the therapeutic vaccine on viral reservoirs. For this purpose, expanded viral cultures will be performed with allogeneic cells from healthy donors to obtain the viral concentrate, after physical and chemical methods for virus inactivation will be tested. With inactivated HIV, alternatives will be tested to optimize internalization by ±DCs. The impact of the ±DCs-1 therapeutic vaccine on the viral reservoir before and after vaccination will also be evaluated. This project will fill an important gap about the clinical outcome of dendritic cell immunotherapy, produce relevant data on viral reservoir establishment and possible strategy for containment and / or elimination, and contribute significantly to other studies involving therapeutic HIV vaccines.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LUANDA MARA DA SILVA OLIVEIRA; BRUNA TIAKI TIYO; LAIS TEODORO DA SILVA; LUIZ AUGUSTO MARCONDES FONSECA; ROSANA COURA ROCHA; VERA APARECIDA DOS SANTOS; CARINA CENEVIVA; ANDERSON APARECIDO BEDIN; ALEXANDRE DE ALMEIDA; ALBERTO JOSÉ DA SILVA DUARTE; et al. Prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in outpatients of a large public university hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, v. 62, 2020-11-13. (19/07976-0, 16/25212-9, 18/12460-0)

ALBERCA, RICARDO WESLEY; PEREIRA, NATALLI ZANETE; OLIVEIRA, LUANDA MARA DA SILVA; GOZZI-SILVA, SARAH CRISTINA; SATO, MARIA NOTOMI. Pregnancy, Viral Infection, and COVID-19. FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY, v. 11, JUL 7 2020. (19/22448-0, 19/02679-7, 19/07976-0)