Introduction: The development of new strategies for the induction of potent and broad immune responses is of high priority in the vaccine field. In this setting, integrase-defective lentiviral vectors (IDLV) represent a new and promising delivery system for immunization purposes.
Areas covered: In this review we describe the development and application of IDLV for vaccination. IDLV are turning out to be a new class of vectors endowed with peculiar characteristics, setting them apart from the parental integration-competent lentiviral vectors. Recent data suggest that IDLV are able to induce strong antigen-specific immune responses in terms of quantity, persistence and quality of CD8(+) T cell response following a single immunization in mice.
Expert opinion: IDLV are a recent acquisition in the field of genetic immunization, thus allowing for the opportunity of further upgrading, including increasing antigen expression and potency of immune response. Based on recent reports showing the potential of IDLV for immunization in mouse models, further development and validation of IDLV, including comparison with other vaccine protocols and use in non-human primate models, are warranted.