Proteins that are produced in host cells of the body are the best substrates for raising CD8 T-cell responses. The GeoVax vaccine achieves this cellular stimulation by using DNA vaccines and/or live viral vectors (MVA) as a system to stimulate T-cells to destroy HIV-1 viruses when they appear in the body. An effective method for stimulating high frequencies of T-cells in conjunction with antibodies is to combine DNA priming of the immune response with a recombinant live virus vectored booster (rMVA) of the immune response.
Priming with GeoVax's HIV-1/DNA vaccine initially focuses the immune response on the DNA components. This is followed by injection of GeoVax's HIV-1/rMVA live virus vector booster which enhances this immune response in two ways – by expressing larger amounts of antigen than can be achieved with DNA alone, and by the infection stimulating pro-inflammatory response that enhances immunity in the individual.