Recombination vaccinia virus expression system

Expression of Recombinant Proteins in the Vaccinia Virus Expression System... 

Vaccinia virus is a large double-stranded DNA virus that infects many types of mammalian cells and some invertebrate cells. Its replication cycle is confined to the cytoplasm and can be divided into an early phase and a late phase. The late phase is characterized by the synthesis of structural proteins and enzymes that are packaged into progeny virions. Expression of foreign genes from recombinant vaccinia viruses takes advantage of promoters that are active during the late phase in order to maximize yields of the protein of interest. Several features make the vaccinia virus system... 

Early animal experiments have underlined the potential of vaccinia-based vector vaccines. Vaccinia virus-housing genes from HIV have clearly been found to elicit both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in monkeys. Similar responses in other animals have been reported when surface polypeptides from a variety of additional pathogens have been expressed in recombinant vaccinia systems (Table 10.16). Human clinical trials are now in progress. 

Table 10.16. Some pathogens against which protective immunity was elicited by recombinant vaccinia vector systems. The virus invariably expressed a gene coding for a pathogen-derived surface polypeptide. The animal species in which the experiments were carried out is also listed...

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