Abstract
EUROPRISE is a Network of Excellence sponsored from 2007 to 2011 by the European Commission within the 6th Framework Program. The Network encompasses a wide portfolio of activities ranging from an integrated research program in the field of HIV vaccines and microbicides to training, dissemination and advocacy. The research program covers the whole pipeline of vaccine and microbicide development from discovery to early clinical trials. The Network is composed of 58 partners representing more than 65 institutions from 13 European countries; it also includes three major pharmaceutical companies (GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Sanofi-Pasteur) involved in HIV microbicide and vaccine research. The Network displays a dedicated and informative web page: http://www.europrise.org. Finally, a distinguishing trait of EUROPRISE is its PhD School of students from across Europe, a unique example in the world of science aimed at spreading excellence through training.EUROPRISE held its second annual conference in Budapest in November, 2009. The conference had 143 participants and their presentations covered aspects of vaccine and microbicide research, development and discovery. Since training is a major task of the Network, the students of the EUROPRISE PhD program summarized certain presentations and their view of the conference in this paper.
Highlights
Budapest, Hungary, hosted the second annual conference of the EUROPRISE Network of Excellence (NoE) from the 15th to the 18th of November 2009
The Network has organized several conferences, workshops and PhD courses on specific topics related to HIV vaccines and microbicides
Long-term toxicity related to growth hormone (GH) treatment seems to preclude large scale application of this strategy [28], this study shows that selective molecules targeting thymic function may represent a therapeutic option, in those patients who are severely immunocompromised
Summary
Hungary, hosted the second annual conference of the EUROPRISE Network of Excellence (NoE) from the 15th to the 18th of November 2009. A difference in CD86 expression levels was observed between the two groups, suggesting that immune cells from seropositive individuals are capable of responding to the HIV antigens incorporated in the VLPs. The study of the pattern of cytokine production showed that IL-10 and IL-6 were more expressed in seropositive individuals than in seronegative controls. The DermaVir Patch is their lead therapeutic vaccine candidate and originates from a development pipeline for plasmidbased vaccines [39] The aim of this vaccine is to lower the viral load in HIV positive individuals by inducing immune responses of broad specificity against the virus. This leads to efficient epitope presentation and long-lasting as well as specific immune responses, as demonstrated in immunogenicity and reduction of viral load in SIV-infected monkeys Further hallmarks of this vaccine candidate is the delivery method (DermaPrep) on large areas of abraded skin to target Langerhans cells. These results suggest that T-helper cells may contribute to the containment of viral replication during acute infection in macaques
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
