POLYPEPTIDES SELECTIVELY REACTIVE WITH ANTIBODIES AGAINST HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS AND VACCINES COMPRISING THE POLYPEPTIDES

摘要

Highly conserved polypeptide sequences derived from gp41 and gp120, preferably from eleven to twenty-one amino acids in length, are joined (for example, via DNA recombinant techniques) to a non-HIV protein or polypeptide sequence comprising an amino-acid sequence not naturally encoded by the HIV genome, thereby forming a fusion protein. Such fusion proteins possess attributes that make them suitable for use in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of HIV infection.