D.M. Roberts et al., "Hexon-chimaeric adenovirus serotype 5 vectors circumvent preexisting antivector immunity," Nature, 441:239-243, 2006. (Cited in 52 papers)
In 2006, Dan Barouch wanted to develop a vaccine vector that would not be suppressed by preexisting immunity. His group at the Harvard Medical School and colleagues in the Netherlands constructed a chimeric adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) vector by swapping the hexon proteins in the capsid - the main target for antibodies - with proteins from the related Ad48 virus, which is less detectable by the immune system. As Barouch had hoped, these chimeras passed undetected into the bodies of mice and monkeys.
Not only does this study produce a potentially effective vaccine vector, says John Mascola of the NIH's Vaccine Research Center, it's a "proof of principle that one can engineer a vector to avoid the immune system."
In 2007, Merck Research Laboratories halted Phase II trials of an ...
