Objective
Lentivirus vaccines have proven difficult to develop to date. The reasons for this include a lack of information on target antigens, protective immune responses, and effective vaccine strategies. We propose to evaluate DNA vaccination strategies in sheep challenged with maedi visna virus (MVV). Sheep will be immunised with MVV core or envelope genes or a combination of these via the skin (by gene gun) or mucosal tissues (using Salmonella vehicles). The effects of including genes encoding IFNg or IL4 during priming will also be investigated. Animals will be boosted with recombinant Adenovirus encoding the MVV genes. Immunological variables as well as virus load and disease will be determined before and after challenge. The project will help to identify protective virus antigens, provide useful information on immune correlates of protection, and indicate whether mucosal or cutaneous immunisation correlates with protection.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
EH9 1QH Edinburgh
United Kingdom