Peptides sequences and compositions

Abstract

Provided is a polypeptide having no more than 100 amino acids, which polypeptide comprises one or more sequences having at least 60% homology with any of SEQ ID 1-4, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 60% homology with a sub-sequence of any of SEQ ID 1-4 that has the same length as the epitope: SEQ ID 1 GDTWAGVEAIIRILQQLLFIHFRIGCQHSR SEQ ID 2 KVGSLQYLALTALITPKKIKPPLPSVKKLTEDRWNKPQKT SEQ ID 3 EPVPLQLPPLERLTLDCSEDCGTSGTQ SEQ ID 4 YKGALDLSHFLKEKGGLEGLIYSQKRQDILDLWVYHTQGYFPD wherein, the polypeptide is immunogenic in a vertebrate expressing a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) allele, and wherein the polypeptide is not a complete HIV virus protein.

1 - 30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . A polypeptide having no more than 100 amino acids, which polypeptide comprises one or more sequences having at least 60% homology with any of SEQ ID 1-4, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of any of SEQ ID 1-4 that has the same length as the epitope: 
       
         
           
                 
                 
               
                     
                   SEQ ID 1 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   GDTWAGVEAIIRILQQLLFIHFRIGCQHSR 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   SEQ ID 2 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   KVGSLQYLALTALITPKKIKPPLPSVKKLTEDRWNKPQKT 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   SEQ ID 3 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   EPVPLQLPPLERLTLDCSEDCGTSGTQ 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   SEQ ID 4 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   YKGALDLSHFLKEKGGLEGLIYSQKRQDILDLWVYHTQGYFPD 
                 
             
                
               
            
             
                
                
               
            
             
                
               
            
             
                
                
               
            
             
                
               
            
             
                
                
               
            
             
                
               
            
             
                
               
            
           
         
         wherein, the polypeptide is immunogenic in a vertebrate expressing a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) allele, and wherein the polypeptide is not a complete HIV protein. 
       
     
     
         32 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31 , which polypeptide comprises one or more sequences having at least 85% homology with SEQ ID 1, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of SEQ ID 1 that has the same length as the epitope. 
     
     
         33 . A polypeptide according to  claim 32 , further comprising one or more sequences having at least 85% homology with any of SEQ ID 2-4, or further comprising two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of any of SEQ ID 2-4 that has the same length as the epitope. 
     
     
         34 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31 , which polypeptide comprises one or more sequences having at least 85% homology with SEQ ID 2, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of SEQ ID 2 that has the same length as the epitope. 
     
     
         35 . A polypeptide according to  claim 34 , further comprising one or more sequences having at least 85% homology with any of SEQ ID 1, 3 and 4, or further comprising two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of any of SEQ ID 1, 3 and 4 that has the same length as the epitope. 
     
     
         36 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31 , which polypeptide comprises one or more sequences having at least 85% homology with SEQ ID 3, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of SEQ ID 3 that has the same length as the epitope. 
     
     
         37 . A polypeptide according to  claim 36 , further comprising one or more sequences having at least 85% homology with any of SEQ ID 1, 2 and 4, or further comprising two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of any of SEQ ID 1, 2 and 4 that has the same length as the epitope. 
     
     
         38 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31 , which polypeptide comprises one or more sequences having at least 85% homology with SEQ ID 4, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of SEQ ID 4 that has the same length as the epitope. 
     
     
         39 . A polypeptide according to  claim 36 , further comprising one or more sequences having at least 85% homology with any of SEQ ID 1-3, or further comprising two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of any of SEQ ID 1-3 that has the same length as the epitope. 
     
     
         40 . A polypeptide having no more than 100 amino acids, which polypeptide comprises one or more sequences defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV virus protein, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein:
 residues 51-80 of a VPR protein   residues 142-181 of a VIF protein   residues 69-95 of an REV protein   residues 81-123 of a NEF protein   wherein, the polypeptide is immunogenic in a vertebrate expressing a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) allele, and wherein the polypeptide is not a complete HIV protein.   
     
     
         41 . A polypeptide according to  claim 40 , which polypeptide comprises the sequence defined by the amino acid residues 51-80 of a VPR protein, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by the amino acid residues 51-80 of a VPR protein. 
     
     
         42 . A polypeptide according to  claim 41 , further comprising one or more sequences defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein, or further comprising two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by any of the following amino acid residues of an HIV virus protein:
 residues 142-181 of a VIF protein   residues 69-95 of an REV protein   residues 81-123 of a NEF protein   
     
     
         43 . A polypeptide according to  claim 40 , which polypeptide comprises the sequence defined by the amino acid residues 142-181 of a VIF protein, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by the amino acid residues 142-181 of a VIF protein. 
     
     
         44 . A polypeptide according to  claim 43 , further comprising one or more sequences defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein, or further comprising two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by any of the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein:
 residues 51-80 of a VPR protein   residues 69-95 of an REV protein   residues 81-123 of a NEF protein   
     
     
         45 . A polypeptide according to  claim 40 , which polypeptide comprises the sequence defined by the amino acid residues 69-95 of an REV protein, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by the amino acid residues 69-95 of an REV protein. 
     
     
         46 . A polypeptide according to  claim 45 , further comprising one or more sequences defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein, or further comprising two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by any of the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein:
 residues 51-80 of a VPR protein   residues 142-181 of a VIF protein   residues 81-123 of a NEF protein   
     
     
         47 . A polypeptide according to  claim 40 , which polypeptide comprises the sequence defined by the amino acid residues 81-123 of a NEF protein, or comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by the amino acid residues 81-123 of a NEF protein. 
     
     
         48 . A polypeptide according to  claim 47 , further comprising one or more sequences defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein, or further comprising two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by any of the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein:
 residues 51-80 of a VPR protein   residues 142-181 of a VIF protein   residues 69-95 of an REV protein   
     
     
         49 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31  or  claim 40 , which polypeptide comprises a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL), CD8+ T cell and/or CD4+ T cell epitope. 
     
     
         50 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31  or  claim 40 , comprising 2, 3, 4, 5 or more epitopes. 
     
     
         51 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31  or  claim 40 , which is immunogenic to an epitope within any of the sequences of SEQ ID 1-4. 
     
     
         52 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31  or  claim 40 , which is immunogenic to an HIV strain. 
     
     
         53 . A polypeptide according to  claim 52 , which is immunogenic to a plurality of HIV strains. 
     
     
         54 . A polypeptide according to any  claim 31  or  claim 40 , further comprising one or more further sequences from an immunodeficiency virus protein. 
     
     
         55 . A polypeptide according to  claim 53 , wherein when the polypeptide is at least 85% homologous to SEQ ID 1, the protein is an VPR protein, when the polypeptide is at least 85% homologous to SEQ ID 2, the protein is an VIF protein, when the polypeptide is at least 85% homologous to SEQ ID 3, the protein is an REV protein, and when the polypeptide is at least 85% homologous to SEQ ID 4, the protein is an NEF protein. 
     
     
         56 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31  or  claim 40 , wherein said homology is substantially 100%. 
     
     
         57 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31  or  claim 40 , wherein the epitope comprises 8, 9 10 or 11 amino acids or more. 
     
     
         58 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31  or  claim 40 , having no more than 50 amino acid residues. 
     
     
         59 . A polypeptide according to  claim 31  or  claim 40 , comprising from 15-45 amino acid residues. 
     
     
         60 . An immunogenic multi-epitope polypeptide, which multi-epitope polypeptide comprises two or more polypeptides wherein the polypeptides comprise one or more sequences having at least 85% homology with any of SEQ ID 1-4, or which multi-epitope polypeptide comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more, each epitope having at least 85% homology with a sub-sequence of any of SEQ ID 1-4 that has the same length as the epitope: 
       
         
           
                 
                 
               
                     
                   SEQ ID 1 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   GDTWAGVEAIIRILQQLLFIHFRIGCQHSR 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   SEQ ID 2 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   KVGSLQYLALTALITPKKIKPPLPSVKKLTEDRWNKPQKT 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   SEQ ID 3 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   EPVPLQLPPLERLTLDCSEDCGTSGTQ 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   SEQ ID 4 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   YKGALDLSHFLKEKGGLEGLIYSQKRQDILDLWVYHTQGYFPD 
                 
             
                
               
            
             
                
                
               
            
             
                
               
            
             
                
                
               
            
             
                
               
            
             
                
                
               
            
             
                
               
            
             
                
               
            
           
         
         wherein, the polypeptide is immunogenic in a vertebrate expressing a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) allele. 
       
     
     
         61 . An immunogenic multi-epitope polypeptide according to  claim 60 , which comprises all of the polypeptides of SEQ ID 1-4, or comprises a polypeptide for each of SEQ ID 1-4 having at least 85% homology for that sequence. 
     
     
         62 . An immunogenic multi-epitope polypeptide, which multi epitope polypeptide comprises two or more polypeptides wherein each polypeptide comprise one or more sequences defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein, or which multi-eptiope polypeptide comprises two or more epitopes having 7 amino acids or more from a sequence defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein:
 residues 51-80 of a VPR protein   residues 142-181 of a VIF protein   residues 69-95 of an REV protein   residues 81-123 of a NEF protein   wherein, the polypeptide is immunogenic in a vertebrate expressing a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) allele.   
     
     
         63 . An immunogenic multi-epitope polypeptide according to  claim 62 , which comprises all of the sequences defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein:
 residues 51-80 of a VPR protein   residues 142-181 of a VIF protein   residues 69-95 of an REV protein   residues 81-123 of a NEF protein   
     
     
         64 . An immunogenic multi-epitope polypeptide comprising two or more polypeptides as defined in  claim 31  or  claim 40 . 
     
     
         65 . A polypeptide composition comprising two or more polypeptides as defined in  claim 31  or  claim 40 . 
     
     
         66 . A polypeptide composition according to  claim 65 , in which polypeptides having sequences of SEQ ID 1-4 are all present, or in which all of the sequences defined by the following amino acid residues of an HIV protein are present:
 residues 51-80 of a VPR protein   residues 142-181 of a VIF protein   residues 69-95 of an REV protein   residues 81-123 of a NEF protein   
     
     
         67 . (canceled) 
     
     
         68 . A method of producing a polypeptide as defined in  claim 31  or  claim 40 , which method comprises combining two or more epitopes to form the polypeptide. 
     
     
         69 . A polypeptide construct, which construct comprises a polypeptide as defined in  claim 31  or  claim 40  and a carrier. 
     
     
         70 . A method of producing a polypeptide construct as defined in  claim 69 , which method comprises combining two or more epitopes and/or a polypeptide with the carrier. 
     
     
         71 . A polypeptide construct according to  claim 69 , wherein the carrier is a molecule. 
     
     
         72 . A polypeptide construct according to  claim 71 , wherein the carrier comprises an adjuvant and/or an excipient. 
     
     
         73 . A vaccine composition against an HIV virus, comprising a polypeptide as defined in  claim 31  or  claim 40 , and an appropriate excipient and/or adjuvant. 
     
     
         74 . A vaccine composition against an HIV virus, comprising a polypeptide construct as defined in  claim 69  and optionally an appropriate excipient and/or adjuvant. 
     
     
         75 . A method of producing a vaccine composition as defined in  claim 73 , which method comprises mixing the polypeptide with an appropriate excipient and/or adjuvant. 
     
     
         76 . (canceled) 
     
     
         77 . A method of treating or preventing an HIV virus infection, which method comprises administering a vaccine composition, as defined in  claim 73  or  claim 74  to a vertebrate. 
     
     
         78 . A method according to  claim 77 , wherein the vertebrate is a human.