Adenovirus-vectored vaccine containing multidimensionally conserved parts of the HIV proteome is immunogenic in rhesus macaques

Significance HIV is a highly mutable pathogen that can mutate to evade vaccine-induced immune responses, thus negating the vaccine’s protective effects. If mutations responses incur fitness penalty for virus, other evolve partially compensate loss. Accounting such effects, we designed single long peptide immunogen comprised of parts proteins wherein would be difficult without penalties virus. This was expressed in adenovirus vectors, which are clinical development (e.g., COVID-19). Monkeys immunized with our vaccine exhibited strong T-cell directed toward regions contained immunogen. suggests further exploration this use humans warranted.