P17-01. HIV-specific immune responses induced by a single dose of HIV DNA vaccine in Rhesus macaques

Background DNA vaccine is one of the most promising strategies for development of an efficacious HIV vaccine. Current HIV DNA vaccines induce potent immune responses (IR) in rodents but their immunogenicity remains weak in human and non-human primates (NHP). On the other hand, the MRKAd-5 based HIV vaccine that induces strong HIV-specific T cell responses failed to control HIV infection in human clinical trial. Therefore, strategies that enhance the immunogenicity of HIV DNA vaccines together with a strong commitment to better characterize the vaccine-induced IR are needed. Such comprehensive studies are critical in defining correlates of immune protection.