"These findings give us a new way to prepare personalized vaccines that stimulate the immune system to fight viral and other diseases with LEAPS conjugates," said Dr Zimmerman. "This may lead to new treatments against many diseases." Dr. Rosenthal will introduce the LEAPS dendritic cell vaccine approach as a potentially new personalized immunotherapy for chronic viral infections and tumors at the Cancer Vaccine Meeting in Cambridge, Mass., June 30, 2010.

The LEAPS vaccines in this study consist of a portion of an HSV or HIV protein attached to a portion of another very small protein immune cell binding ligand (ICBL) chosen to promote and direct the immune response. By themselves, neither the ICBL nor the viral peptides initiate protection, but when conjugated together, the LEAPS vaccines promote immune responses that can protect against HSV-1.

Vaccination against HSV and HIV has the potential to prevent initial infection, prevent or lessen the severity of disease and prevent spread of the virus to sexual partners, as well as to neonates and newborns. LEAPS-peptide vaccines and LEAPS-based dendritic cell vaccines have the potential to provide safe and effective protection and treatment for infectious, oncogenic and autoimmune diseases.

Source CEL-SCI Corporation