| 20110129498 | VACCINE FOR THE PREVENTION AND THERAPY OF HCV INFECTIONS - The present invention relates to CD81-binding peptides of the hepatitis virus C(HCV) E2 glycoprotein, which are devoid of or mutated within the amino-terminal 27 amino acids of the mature E2 envelope glycoprotein, or variant thereof which retains the ability to bind to CD81. Furthermore, the present invention provides polypeptides comprising said CD81-binding peptide, polynucleotides encoding the CD81-binding peptide, and expression cassettes and vectors comprising the polynucleotide of the invention. Moreover, the present invention relates to compositions comprising the CD81-binding peptide, the polynucleotide encoding the CD81-binding peptide, the expression cassette, or the vector, and an adjuvant. Furthermore, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising the CD81-binding peptide, the polynucleotide, the expression cassette, the vector, or the composition of the invention, and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, carrier, or diluent. Moreover, the present invention provides the CD81-binding peptide, the polynucleotide, the expression cassette, the vector, the composition, or the pharmaceutical composition of the invention for induction of an immune response, preferably a broad specificity immune response, against HCV in a mammal, and methods for inducing a therapeutic and/or prophylactic immune response against HCV in a mammal, preferably against HCV of various genotypes. | 06-02-2011 |
