Study on the Immunogenicity of HIV-1 Clade B gp120 Gene before and after Codon Optimization
To compare the immunogenicity of HIV-1 clade B gp120 gene using optimized codons with wild-type gene based on recombinant adeno-associated virus vector(rAAV),we,firstly,generated a synthetic HIV-1 gp120 sequence in which most wide-type codons were replaced with codons from highly expressed human genes(modgp120) and identified its better expression in vitro than that of wild-type gene(wtgp120)using Western blot;secondly,we inserted wtgp120 and modgp120 into rAAV vector and produced pure rAAV-wtgp120 and rAAV-modgp120.Balb/C mice were immunized with rAAV-wtgp120 and rAAV-modgp120 separately,the antibody and CTL responses were tested.Results indicated that modgp120 gene expressed more antigen in vitro and induced higher specific CTL response in vivo than that of wild-type gp120 gene.There was no detectable antibody to gp120.