Non-Technical Abstract 
NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT OF THE STUDY 
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus which has the ability to invade and 
damage cells of the immune system. It infects and kills that specific group of white blood 
cells called CD4+ T cells. The result of this loss is a serious disabling of the body's immune 
system, leaving the infected individual open to infections and cancers. 
The body also has specific white blood cells known as cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), 
that function as important killers of cells infected with viruses. HIV-infected individuals 
who are in an early stage of disease and who are symptom-free could theoretically benefit 
from a treatment that stimulates these CTL. 
Scientists have recently developed a way to insert new genetic information into human 
cells through use of a disabled virus, called a retroviral vector. The retroviral vector has been 
designed such that it cannot reproduce to cause disease, but delivers to target cells the genetic 
codes for the production of certain proteins that resemble important proteins of HIV. The 
retroviral vector instructs the human target cells to produce such therapeutic proteins. These 
proteins can then lead to enhanced immune responses targeted at killing HIV-infected cells. 
Experiments in mice and non-human primates have shown that treatment with these 
specific retroviral vectors can stimulate the production of HIV-specific antibodies and CTL 
without producing any toxic side effects. 
This study is designed to determine the safety of the retroviral vector encoding HIV genes 
for use in humans, and, of secondary importance, whether the vector will have the ability to 
trigger CTL responses in humans as it does in laboratory animals. 
Recombinant DNA Research, Volume 17 
[857] 
