This disclosure relates to methods of promoting immune responses against HIV and compositions related thereto. In certain embodiments, this disclosure relates to methods of vaccinating for HIV comprising administering to the subject a priming composition followed by a boosting composition. In certain embodiments, the priming composition comprises a recombinant virus such as recombinant MVA that encodes an Env protein of HIV or segment thereof. In certain embodiments, the boosting composition comprises a trimeric cyclically permuted gp120 chimeric protein reported herein or DNA encoding the same.

The invention relates to vaccines for breast cancer therapy. The invention also relates to methods of preventing and treating breast cancer using a breast cancer vaccine.

The disclosure relates to methods and materials for treating cancer. For example, recombinant vaccinia viruses having the ability to direct the expression of membrane-bound IL-12 polypeptides on the surface of infected cells and methods for using such recombinant vaccinia viruses to treat cancer are provided. Specifically, the disclosure provides a recombinant vaccinia virus comprising a vaccinia virus genome comprising a nucleic acid encoding an IL-12p35 polypeptide sequence and an IL-12p40 polypeptide sequence, wherein one of the polypeptide sequences comprises a membrane anchoring polypeptide sequence.

Disclosed are synthetic MVA-based vaccines for preventing or treating infections caused by a coronavirus or variants thereof.

Disclosed herein are self-replicating RNA molecules encoding prostate neoantigens, vaccines, and method of treating and preventing prostate cancer using the self-replicating RNA molecules and vaccines.

The compositions and methods are described for generating an immune response to a hemorrhagic fever virus such as ebolavirus, Marburgvirus, or arenavirus. The compositions and methods described herein relate to a modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vector encoding one or more viral antigens for generating a protective immune response to a member of genus Ebolavirus (such as a member of species Zaire ebolavirus), a member of genus Marburgvirus (such as a member of species Marburg marburgvirus), or a member of genus Arenavirus (such as a member of species Lassa virus) in the subject to which the vector is administered. The compositions and methods of the present invention are useful both prophylactically and therapeutically and may be used to prevent and/or treat an infection caused by ebolavirus, Marburgvirus, or arenavirus.

Clonal strains of vaccinia viruses are provided. Also provided are methods of identifying and isolating attenuated and oncolytic clonal strains from virus preparations. Modified recombinant forms of the clonal strains also are provided. The clonal strains and virus preparations can be used for diagnostic and therapeutic methods, in particular for therapy and diagnosis or monitoring treatment of proliferative disorders, including neoplastic diseases, such as, but are not limited to, solid tumors and blood cancers.

Methods for inducing an immune response against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in HIV-infected subjects undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART) are described. The methods involve initial administration of an adenovirus vector vaccine and subsequent administration of a poxvirus vector vaccine, followed by administration of anti-HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAb).

A vaccine comprising an immunologically effective amount of recombinant modified vaccinia Ankara (rMVA) virus which is genetically stable after serial passage and produced by a) constructing a transfer plasmid vector comprising a modified H5 (mH5) promoter operably linked to a DNA sequence encoding a heterologous foreign protein antigen, wherein the expression of said DNA sequence is under the control of the mH5 promoter; b) generating rMVA virus by transfecting one or more plasmid vectors obtained from step a) into wild type MVA virus; c) identifying rMVA virus expressing one or more heterologous foreign protein antigens using one or more selection methods for serial passage; d) conducting serial passage; e) expanding an rMVA virus strain identified by step d); and f) purifying the rMVA viruses from step e) to form the vaccine. One embodiment is directed to a fusion cytomegalovirus (CMV) protein antigen comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding two or more antigenic portions of Immediate-Early Gene-1 or Immediate-Early Gene-2 (IEfusion), wherein the antigenic portions elicit an immune response when expressed by a vaccine.

Human interleukin-2 (IL-2) muteins or variants thereof are provided. In particular, provided are IL-2 muteins that have an increased binding capacity for IL-2Rβ receptor as compared to wild-type IL-2 for use in combination therapies with anti-PD-1 antibodies for the treatment of cancer. Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions that include such anti-PD-1 antibodies and the disclosed IL-2 muteins.