Prevalence of specific neutralizing antibodies against Sendai virus in populations from different geographic areas: implications for AIDS vaccine development using Sendai virus vectors.

A Sendai virus (SeV) vector is being developed for delivery of an HIV immunogen. SeV is not known to cause disease in humans. Because it is genetically and antigenically related to human parainfluenza virus type 1 (hPIV-1), it is important to determine whether pre-existing hPIV-1 antibodies will affect immune responses elicited by a SeV vector-based vaccine. To quantify SeV neutralizing antibodies (NAb) in human serum, a sensitive virus neutralization assay was developed using a SeV vector encoding green fluorescent protein. Samples from 255 HIV-uninfected subjects from Africa, Europe, United States, and Japan, as well as from 12 confirmed hPIV-1-infected patients, were analyzed. SeV NAb titers did not vary significantly after serum was treated with receptor-destroying enzyme, indicating that non-specific hemagglutination inhibitors did not affect the assay sensitivity. A significant correlation was observed between hPIV-1 ELISA and SeV NAb titers. SeV NAb were detected in 92.5% subjects with a median titer of 60.6 and values ranging from 5.9- 11,324. The majority had titers < 1000 with 71.7% < 100 (< 5 considered negative). There was no significant difference in titer or prevalence by gender, age range or geographic origin. However, African males had a lower titer than non-Africans of either gender (p=0.007). Overall, the prevalence of SeV NAb is high and likely due to neutralization by cross-reactive hPIV-1 antibodies. Clinical trials will be needed to assess the influence of pre-existing SeV NAb on HIV-specific immune responses elicited by a SeV vaccine vector expressing HIV.