Immune responses to HIV-1 Tat in natural infection and experimental immunization: implications for vaccine design

Abstract

Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) is the etiological agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the worst pandemic of mankind. Despite the enormous amount of effort dedicated on restricting the spread of the infection, HIV expansion shows no sign of slowing. WHO/UNAIDS estimates that nearly 30 million people are living with HIV infection as of 2007 with as many as 5 million fresh infections each year. The Sub-Saharan regions are the most affected with an estimated 21.6 to 27.4 million people currently living with HIV and India has the second largest infections, with 2.5 million infections (0.36% of the adult population). Although the introduction of effective antiretroviral drugs has had its impact on controlling the infection in the developed nations, their use in the developing nations has been limited and hence less likely to control the pandemic effectively. Despite the increased efforts, a vaccine for HIV/AIDS still remains elusive.