[AIDS vaccines: an enigma in vaccine development]

Abstract

The principles of viral vaccine development and the immune responses to vaccination are described. An effective vaccine should stimulate both cellular and humoral immune responses to provide lasting protection against infection and disease. We describe specific problems associated with the development of an AIDS vaccine i.e. lack of experience with human retroviruses, the integration of the HIV genome in cellular DNA, HIV infection of critical cells in the immune system, persistence of HIV in the brain, large variations in the virus envelope gene, immune interactions with the CD-4 protein and the generation of infection enhancing antibodies. The strategies of AIDS vaccine development are discussed and the candidate vaccines are described with a report on the status of each vaccine trial in progress.