# Virology and Vector Production Core C

> **NIH NIH U19** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $136,153

## Abstract

Core C (Virology and Vector Production) Summary
This IPCAVD program proposal builds on an innovative strategy for AIDS vaccine development that takes
advantage of the ability of recombinant strain 68-1 rhesus CMV (RhCMV) vectors expressing SIV antigens to
elicit long-lived, tissue-based effector memory CD8+ T cell responses that are specifically restricted by MHC-II
and MHC-E, rather than by classical MHC-Ia. We have demonstrated in rhesus macaques (RM) that these
unique immune responses result in, and are required for, stringent control and eventual clearance of highly
pathogenic SIV in 54% of vaccinated RM that were mucosally challenged with the highly pathogenic
SIVmac239 clone. Recently, we have also shown that the deletion of Rh157.5/Rh157.4 genes in RhCMV (the
RhCMV homologs of the HCMV UL128 and UL130 genes) is necessary for the induction of unconventional
CD8+ T cell restriction and thereby, the efficacy of our vaccine. We have also begun to discover other RhCMV
gene loci and viral tropism determinants participate in the programming of various aspects of the CD8+ T cell
immune response, for the first time allowing for the creation of “response-programmed” vaccine vectors. This
IPCAVD program seeks to further determine the mechanisms of CD8+ T cell unconventional response
programming by RhCMV, and to define the nature the responses required for protection against SIV challenge.
This knowledge will be then used to design and manufacture next-generation human CMV (HCMV) vectors for
safety and immunogenicity testing in HIV/AIDS vaccine clinical trials. To accomplish all of this, this proposal
brings together experienced investigators that provide complementary expertise in their projects with the
common goals of designing, constructing, and testing the immunogenicity, efficacy, and safety of such
response-programmed vaccine vectors. Core C will play a key role in supporting these efforts and integrating
the different projects by the provision of standardized virology services and assays. Specifically, Core C will
support the project-specific in vivo studies through production and characterization of recombinant RhCMV and
HCMV vectors, monitoring of virus loads and secretions, and ultrasensitive PCR characterization of virus
biodistribution in host tissues.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10105275
- **Project number:** 5U19AI128741-05
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Christoph Adrian Kahl
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $136,153
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-03-02 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10105275

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10105275, Virology and Vector Production Core C (5U19AI128741-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10105275. Licensed CC0.

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