This study assessed and compared the immunogenicity of various immunization strategies in mice using combinations of re- combinant DNA （pCCMp24） and recombinant attenuated vaccinia virus Tian Tan （rddVTT_ccMpe4）. Intramuscular immuniza- tion was performed on days 0 （prime） and 21 （boost）. The immunogenicity of the vaccine schedules was determined by meas- uring human immunodeficiency virus （HIV）-specific binding antibody levels and cytokine （interleukin-2 and interleukin-4） concentrations in peripheral blood, analyzing lymphocyte proliferation capacity against HIV epitopes and CD4~/CD8＋cell ratio, and monitoring interferon-gamma levels at different times post-immunization. The results showed that pCCMp24, rddVTT.ccMp24 and their prime-boost immunization induced humoral and cellular immune responses. The pCCMp24/ rddVTT.ccMp24 immunization strategy increased CD8＋ T cells and induced more IFN-7-secreting cells compared with sin- gle-shot rDNA. The prime-boost immunization strategy also induced the generation of cellular immunological memory to HIV epitope peptides. These results demonstrated that prime-boost immunization with rDNA and rddVTT_ccMp24 had a tendency to induce greater cellular immune response than single-shot vaccinations, especially IFN-7 response, providing a basis for further studies.
