The Role of Levamisole and HIV-1 Nef-p24 Fusion Protein in IL-4 Gene Expression for Evaluating Humoral Immune Response

Introduction: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world. It is transmitted via the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1). So, a HIV-1 vaccine should be effective in the prevention of virus infection and induces immune responses. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the humoral immune induction through measuring the expression of interleukin4 (IL-4) in response to levamisole, as an adjuvant, with the HIV-1 Nef-p24 fusion protein as an immunogenic sequence. Materials and Methods: In this study, 56 BalB/c female mice, aged 6 to 8 weeks were divided into 4 groups. There were 14 mice in each group. Prime and Booster injections were arranged in these groups receiving PBS, levamisole, Nef-p24, and Nef-p24 along with levamisole (Nef-p24/levamisole). All injections were performed peritoneally. Results: Real-time PCR results showed that IL-4 transcripts level increased significantly (P <0.05) in boostered groups, receiving levamisole, Nef-p24, and Nef-p24/levamisole compared to primed groups. However, the results of ELISA revealed the enhancement in IL-4 expression in levamisole primed groups in comparison to Nef-p24/levamisole boostered group. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the HIV-1 Nef-p24 fusion protein and levamisole could be considered as effective candidates as to increase the expression of IL-4 which may stimulate the humoral immune response.