Patent ID: 7267963

Claim:
A process of increasing the level of a TH1-type immune response to a peptide of interest in an animal comprising: a) providing i) a peptide of interest, ii) a plant virus expressing a heterologous peptide on the exposed portion of the coat protein of said plant virus, which is capable of conjugating to said peptide of interest, wherein said plant virus is a cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), and wherein said heterologous peptide comprises acidic amino acids and an equal number basic amino acids, iii) a host animal; b) chemically conjugating said peptide of interest to said heterologous peptide to generate a conjugate; and c) administering said conjugate to said host animal to generate a treated animal under conditions such that the level of TH1-type immune response to said peptide of interest in said treated animal is increased relative to the level of TH1-type immune response to said peptide of interest that is not conjugated in a control animal.