Viral adjuvants

摘要

The present invention provides viral adjuvants for enhancing an immune response to an immunogen. In particular embodiments, the viral adjuvant is an alphavirus adjuvant or a Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis viral adjuvant. Also provided are compositions comprising the viral adjuvant and an immunogen, and pharmaceutical formulations comprising the viral adjuvant or compositions of the invention in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Further provided are methods of producing an immune response against an immunogen in a subject comprising administering the immunogen and a viral adjuvant of the invention to the subject.

主权项

1. An alphavirus adjuvant comprising:
a modified alphavirus genomic nucleic acid that lacks sequences encoding the alphavirus structural proteins required for production of new alphavirus particles; wherein the modified alphavirus genome does not comprise a heterologous nucleic acid sequence that encodes a polypeptide of interest or a functional untranslated RNA and the 26S promoter is inactivated or deleted.