The current and future role of nanovaccines in HIV-1 vaccine development

ABSTRACT

Introduction: An efficacious vaccine for HIV-1 has been sought for over 30 years to eliminate the virus from the human population. Many challenges have occurred in the attempt to produce a successful immunogen, mainly caused by the basic biology of the virus. Immunogens have been developed focusing on inducing one or more of the following types of immune responses; neutralizing antibodies, non-neutralizing antibodies, and T-cell mediated responses. One way to better present and develop an immunogen for HIV-1 is through the use of nanotechnology and nanoparticles.

Areas covered: This article gives a basic overview of the HIV-1 vaccine field, as well as nanotechnology, specifically nanovaccines. It then covers the application of nanovaccines made from biological macromolecules to HIV-1 vaccine development for neutralizing antibodies, non-neutralizing antibodies, and T-cell-mediated responses.

Expert opinion: Nanovaccines are an area that is ripe for further exploration in HIV-1 vaccine field. Not only are nanovaccines capable of carrying and presenting antigens in native-like conformations, but they have also repeatedly been shown to increase immunogenicity over recombinant antigens alone. Only through further research can the true role of nanovaccines in the development of an efficacious HIV-1 vaccine be established.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV-1
• T-cell
• nanoparticle
• non-neutralizing antibody
• Neutralizing antibody
• vaccine

Article highlights

• HIV-1 vaccine development has been hampered by the mutation rate, viral diversity, and lack of a complete understanding of the immune response necessary to prevent the infection among other reasons.

• Immunogens for HIV-1 vaccines have focused primarily on inducing neutralizing antibodies; however, work has been done on inducing both non-neutralizing and T-cell-mediated responses as well.

• Nanoparticles have been used as a platform for the development of nanovaccines, which generally increase the immunogenicity of antigens.

• While many different types of nanoparticles exist, the ones derived from biological macromolecules have been the most commonly used to date in the development of vaccine candidates.

• Different nanovaccine platforms have been used for HIV-1 vaccine development, all resulting in different levels of success and immune responses based upon antigen choice, animal models, and the types of assays run.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Peter Burkhard for supplying the model of the Self-Assembling Protein Nanoparticle.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Author Contributions

CPK and GRM conceived of the manuscript. CPK wrote the initial draft and both CPK and GRM edited it.

Disclaimer

The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent the positions of the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense or the Henry M. Jackson Foundation.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a cooperative agreement [W81XWH-18-2-0040] between the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).