Unconjugated
Sooty mangabeys are a natural host of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) that remain asymptomatic and do not exhibit increased immune activation or increased T-lymphocyte turnover despite sustained high levels of SIV viremia. In this study we asked whether an altered immune response to SIV contributes to the lack of immunopathology in sooty mangabeys as opposed to species with pathogenic lentivirus infection. SIV-specific cellular immune responses were investigated in a cohort of 25 sooty mangabeys with natural SIV infection. Gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay responses targeting a median of four SIV proteins were detected in all 25 mangabeys and were comparable in magnitude to those of 13 rhesus macaques infected with SIVmac251 for more than 6 months. As with rhesus macaques, Th2 ELISPOT responses to SIV were absent or >10-fold lower than the IFN-gamma ELISPOT response to the same SIV protein. The SIV-specific ELISPOT response was predominantly mediated by CD8+ T lymphocytes; the frequency of circulating SIV-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes ranged between 0.11% and 3.26% in 13 mangabeys. Functionally, the SIV-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes were cytotoxic; secreted IFN-gamma, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and macrophage inflammatory protein 1beta; and had an activated effector phenotype. Although there was a trend toward higher frequencies of SIV-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes in mangabeys with lower viral loads, a significant inverse correlation between SIV viremia and SIV-specific cellular immunity was not detected. The consistent detection of Th1-type SIV-specific cellular immune responses in naturally infected sooty mangabeys suggests that immune attenuation is neither a feature of nor a requirement for maintenance of nonpathogenic SIV infection in its natural host.
Vaccines are largely evaluated for their ability to promote adaptive immunity, with little focus on the induction of negative immune regulators. Adjuvants facilitate and enhance vaccine-induced immune responses and have been explored for mediating protection against HIV. Using a regimen of peptide priming followed by a modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) boost in a nonhuman primate model, we found that an SIV vaccine incorporating molecular adjuvants mediated partial protection against rectal SIVmac251 challenges. Animals treated with vaccine and multiple adjuvants exhibited a reduced viral load (VL) compared with those treated with vaccine only. Surprisingly, animals treated with adjuvant alone had reduced VLs that were comparable to or better than those of the vaccine-treated group. VL reduction was greatest in animals with the MHC class I allele Mamu-A*01 that were treated with adjuvant only and was largely dependent on CD8+ T cells. Early VLs correlated with Ki67+CCR5+CD4+ T cell frequency, while set-point VL was associated with expansion of a myeloid cell population that was phenotypically similar to myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and that suppressed T cell responses in vitro. MDSC expansion occurred in animals receiving vaccine and was not observed in the adjuvant-only group. Collectively, these results indicate that vaccine-induced MDSCs inhibit protective cellular immunity and suggest that preventing MDSC induction may be critical for effective AIDS vaccination.