Generation of Th1 immune responses to inactivated, gp120-depleted HIV-1 in mice with a dominant Th2 biased immune profile via imunostimulatory oligonucleotides - relevance to AIDS vaccines in developing countries

Vaccination against HIV-1 of hosts with a dominant Th2 immune profile may fail to induce essential protective Th1 immune responses. By using Schistosoma-infected mice, with a pre-existent Th2 immune background, we demonstrate that oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) containing unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guano sine (CpG) immunostimulatory sequences co-administered with inactivated, gp120-depleted HIV-1 viral particles (HIV-1 immunogen) lead to potent Th1 anti-HIV-1 immune responses overcoming the Th2 bias. In contrast, Schistosoma-infected mice immunized with HIV-1 immunogen in incomplete Freund's adjuvant only, induced Th2 anti-HIV-1 immune responses. These findings strongly support the advisability of using CpG ODN as a Th1 inducing adjuvant when immunizing human populations with a strong pre-existent Th2 immune profile. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.