Viral adjuvants
AssigneeThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
InventorsRobert E. Johnston, Joseph M. Thompson
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Abstract
The present invention provides viral adjuvants for enhancing an immune response to an immunogen. In particular embodiments, the viral adjuvant is an alphavirus adjuvant or a Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis viral adjuvant. Also provided are compositions comprising the viral adjuvant and an immunogen, and pharmaceutical formulations comprising the viral adjuvant or compositions of the invention in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Further provided are methods of producing an immune response against an immunogen in a subject comprising administering the immunogen and a viral adjuvant of the invention to the subject.
Claims37
A method of producing an immune response against an immunogen in a subject, the method comprising:
- (a) administering the immunogen to the subject in an immunogenically effective amount;
- and
- (b) administering an alphavirus adjuvant to the subject in an adjuvant effective amount, wherein the alphavirus adjuvant comprises a modified alphavirus genomic nucleic acid that is defective for expression of at least one alphavirus structural protein,
- and wherein the immunogen is not presented on or expressed by the alphavirus adjuvant.
A method of producing an immune response against an immunogen in a subject, the method comprising:
- (a) administering the immunogen to the subject in an immunogenically effective amount;
- and
- (b) administering a propagation-defective Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE) viral adjuvant to the subject in an adjuvant effective amount, wherein the VEE viral adjuvant comprises a modified VEE genomic nucleic acid that is defective for expression of at least one VEE structural protein;
- and wherein the immunogen is not presented on or expressed by the VEE viral adjuvant.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.