Original Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2014; 20(1): 148-162
Published online Jan 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i1.148
HCV-specific immune responses induced by CIGB-230 in combination with IFN-α plus ribavirin
Yalena Amador-Cañizares, Gillian Martínez-Donato, Liz Álvarez-Lajonchere, Claudia Vasallo, Mariacarla Dausá, Daylen Aguilar-Noriega, Carmen Valenzuela, Ivette Raíces, Jean Dubuisson, Czeslaw Wychowski, Zurina Cinza-Estévez, Marlén Castellanos, Magdalys Núñez, Anny Armas, Yaimé González, Ismariley Revé, Ivis Guerra, Ángel Pérez Aguiar, Santiago Dueñas-Carrera
Yalena Amador-Cañizares, Gillian Martínez-Donato, Liz Álvarez-Lajonchere, Claudia Vasallo, Mariacarla Dausá, Daylen Aguilar-Noriega, Carmen Valenzuela, Ivette Raíces, Zurina Cinza-Estévez, Ismariley Revé, Ivis Guerra, Ángel Pérez Aguiar, Santiago Dueñas-Carrera, Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología, Playa 10600, Havana, Cuba
Jean Dubuisson, Czeslaw Wychowski, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Univ Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille, France
Marlén Castellanos, Instituto de Gastroenterología, Vedado 10400, Havana, Cuba
Magdalys Núñez, Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico “Hermanos Amejeiras”, Havana 10200, Cuba
Yaimé González, Anny Armas, Centro de Inmunoensayos, Havana 11300, Cuba
Author contributions: Amador-Cañizares Y, Martínez-Donato G, Álvarez-Lajonchere L, Valenzuela C, Dubuisson J, Wychowski C, Cinza-Estévez C, Castellanos M, Núñez M, Armas A, González Y and Dueñas-Carrera S designed the research; Amador-Cañizares Y, Martínez-Donato G, Álvarez-Lajonchere L, Vasallo C, Dausá M, Aguilar-Noriega D, Valenzuela C, Raíces I, Dubuisson J, Wychowski C, Cinza-Estévez Z, Castellanos M, Núñez M, Armas A, González YJ, Revé I, Guerra I, Pérez Aguiar Á and Dueñas-Carrera S performed the research; Amador-Cañizares Y, Álvarez-Lajonchere L, Valenzuela C, Raíces I, Dubuisson J, Wychowski C, Cinza-Estévez Z, Castellanos M, Núñez M and Dueñas-Carrera S analyzed data and participated in the presentation of results; Amador-Cañizares Y and Dueñas-Carrera S wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Dr. Yalena Amador-Cañizares, Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología, Ave 31, 158 and 190, PO Box 6162, Playa 10600, Havana, Cuba. yalena.amador@cigb.edu.cu
Telephone: +53-7-2716022 Fax: +53-7-2714764
Received: February 27, 2013
Revised: July 5, 2013
Accepted: July 12, 2013
Published online: January 7, 2014
Processing time: 326 Days and 19 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: We assayed, for the first time, the concomitant administration of CIGB-230, a DNA-based therapeutic vaccine candidate against hepatitis C virus (HCV), and non-peginterferon-α (IFN-α) plus ribavirin therapy to chronic, treatment-naive, HCV genotype 1b infected patients. We showed that CIGB-230 enhanced the neutralizing antibody response and induced de novo proliferative and IFN-γ secretion responses in the context of antiviral therapy. The quality of the induced immune response depended on both the number of doses and the timing of administration in relation to the antiviral therapy. In particular, the increases in neutralizing antibodies and IFN-γ were associated with the sustained virological response.