Human immunodeficiency virus decoy
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsNir Kossovsky, Andrew E. Gelman, Edward E. Sponsler
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Abstract
A biologically active composition made up of core particles having diameters of less than about 1000 nanometers which are coated with a layer which is designed to allow attachment of biologically active proteins, peptides or pharmacological agents to the microparticles. When Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) viral protein is attached to the core particles, the result is a viral decoy which accurately mimics native HIV in size, structure and surface character while being entirely devoid of virulent activity due to the microparticle core. The HIV decoy is useful as a vaccine for treating mammals to elicit an immune response.
Claims9
A vaccine for use in treating an animal to elicit an immune response against the human immunodeficiency virus, said vaccine comprising:
- a decoy virus comprising:
- a core particle having a diameter of between about 10 to 200 nanometers, said core particle comprising a metal, ceramic or polymer;
- a coating comprising a substance that provides a threshold surface energy to said core particle which is sufficient to bind immunologically active fragments of the human immunodeficiency virus without denaturing said immunologically active fragments, said substance covering at least a part of the surface of said core particle and being selected from the group consisting of cellobiose, trehalose, isomaltose, maltose, nystose, maltotriose and nitrocellulose;
- at least one immunologically reactive fragment of the human immunodeficiency virus bound to said coated core particle to form said decoy virus;
- and
- a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier for said decoy virus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.