Field Comparison of Carbon Dioxide Source with Biogents Sentinel-2 and Pro Traps for Adult Aedes Mosquito Surveillance.

The BG Sentinel-2 (BGS-2) and BG-Pro traps (BGS-2 configuration) were compared for their effectiveness to collect Aedes vectors and related nuisance mosquitoes in north central Florida during 2022. Traps were baited with either dry ice pellets, pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, or the novel BG yeast-derived CO2 generator. Additionally, each trap was fitted with the BG Sweetscent lure. Sixteen species were collected including Aedes albopictus and Ae. aegypti, which accounted for about 20% of the collections. The BGS-2 collected more mosquitoes compared to the BG-Pro, but the relative percent abundance of each species to total collection from each trap type was similar. Overall mosquito abundance was significantly greater in both trap types baited with dry ice compared with the other CO2 sources. Significantly more Ae. albopictus were collected from BGS-2 traps baited with dry ice than all other CO2 and trap configurations. Lastly, we did not observe any significant differences in Ae. aegypti abundance between trap type or CO2 source.

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte and antibody responses generated in rhesus monkeys immunized with retroviral vector-transduced fibroblasts expressing human immunodeficiency virus type-1 IIIB ENV/REV proteins.

The immune response against human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) is believed to play a role in controlling the early stages of disease progression. The cellular immune response, in particular cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity, may be important for eliminating virally infected cells in HIV-1-infected individuals. Genetic immunization using retroviral vectors provides an effective means of introducing antigens into the antigen presentation pathways for T cell stimulation. A nonreplicating, amphotropic murine retroviral vector containing the HIV-1 IIIB env gene has been used to transduce primary rhesus monkey fibroblasts for the expression of HIV-1 antigenic determinants. Rhesus monkeys were immunized with four doses of either vector-transduced autologous fibroblasts (VTAF) expressing the HIV-1 IIIB ENV/REV proteins or nontransduced autologous fibroblasts (NTAF) administered at 2-week intervals. The animals were evaluated for both the induction of HIV-1-specific immune responses and potential toxicity associated with this ex vivo treatment. The VTAF-immunized monkeys generated CTL responses specific for HIV-1 ENV/REV expressing autologous target cells, whereas, NTAF-immunized monkeys showed negligible CTL activity. The cytotoxic activity was mediated by CD8+, major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted CTL. In addition, antibody responses directed against the HIV-1 gp120 protein were also detected in the sera of VTAF-immunized monkeys. Clinical and histopathological evaluation of immunized monkeys showed no evidence of significant adverse events. Several animals that received either VTAF or NTAF had detectable anti-cytoplasmic antibodies, but were not positive for anti-nuclear antibodies or rheumatoid factor. Subsequent evaluation of renal, synovial, and hepatic tissue samples from these monkeys revealed no autoimmune disease-associated lesions. This study demonstrates the safety and ability of autologous retroviral vector-transduced cells expressing HIV-1 IIIB ENV/REV proteins to stimulate immune responses in a non-human primate model, and provides a basis for this form of genetic immunization in HIV-infected humans.

Cross-reactive lysis of human targets infected with prototypic and clinical human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains by murine anti-HIV-1 IIIB env-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

To evaluate the ability of murine anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) IIIB env cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) to recognize and lyse HIV-1-infected cells, we have constructed a human cell line (Hu/Dd) expressing both the CD4 receptor and the murine H-2Dd major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I protein. This cell line can be productively infected with HIV-1 and can also function as a target for murine CD8+, class I MHC-restricted CTL directed against the envelope glycoprotein of HIV-1 IIIB. The ability of BALB/c anti-HIV-1 IIIB env CTL to specifically recognize and lyse Hu/Dd target cells infected with divergent HIV-1 strains was tested by using both prototypic and clinical HIV-1 strains. CTL generated by immunization of mice with syngeneic cells expressing either the native or V3 loop-deleted (delta V3) envelope glycoprotein from HIV-1 IIIB were able to recognize and specifically lyse Hu/Dd target cells infected with the HIV-1 prototypic isolates IIIB, MN, WMJ II, SF2, and CC as well as several HIV-1 clinical isolates. These results demonstrate that CTL determinants for HIV-1 env exist outside the hypervariable V3 region, anti-HIV-1 IIIB env CTL appear to recognize common determinants on diverse HIV-1 strains, and classification of HIV-1 strains based on neutralizing antibody reactivities does not appear to correspond to CTL recognition and lysis. The results suggest that the cell-mediated components of the immune system may have a broader recognition of divergent HIV-1 strains than do the humoral components.