Vaccine Therapy, Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant, and GM-CSF in Treating Patients With HIV

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * HIV-1 infection confirmed by Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay * HLA-A2 positive by polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primers * CD4 T-cell count ≥ 300/mm³ * Must be receiving stable regimen of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) that does not include lamivudine or emtricitabine for ≥ 1 month prior to study entry * Patients on HAART, including lamivudine or emtricitabine, for which there is a medically appropriate regimen that does not include lamivudine or emtricitabine, are eligible if willing to change antiretrovirals * Viral load \< 50 copies/mL for 1 month prior to study entry PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * See Disease Characteristics * ECOG performance status 0-1 * Life expectancy ≥ 6 months * Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL * WBC ≥ 1,000/mm³ * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 750/mm³ * Platelet count ≥ 75,000/mm³ * PT and PTT ≤ 120% of control unless lupus anticoagulant detected * Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) (≤ 7.5 mg/dL with direct fraction ≤ 0.7 mg/dL if on protease inhibitor therapy or due to Gilbert's syndrome) * AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times ULN * Creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL OR creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min * Not pregnant or nursing * Negative pregnancy test * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or a prior history of HBsAg while on lamivudine or emtricitabine * Prior treatment with tenofovir and currently HBsAg negative allowed * No evidence of a severe or life-threatening infection other than HIV within the past 6 months * No opportunistic infections requiring systemic therapy within the past month * No active malignancy, except for basal cell carcinoma * No known hypersensitivity to incomplete Freund's adjuvant or incomplete Freund's adjuvant VG (vegetable-grade), E1M184V peptide, or sargramostim (GM-CSF) * No other abnormality that would be scored as ≥ grade 3 toxicity, except any of the following (if asymptomatic): * Hyperuricemia of grade 4 (without physiologic consequences) * Elevation of lactate dehydrogenase ≥ grade 3 * Elevation of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) ≥ grade 3 * Hypophosphatemia ≥ grade 3 (if patient is on tenofovir) * Elevation of alkaline phosphate of grade 3 * Hyperamylasemia of ≥ grade 3 allowed if any of the following criteria are met: * Macroamylasemia * Lipase ≤ 2 times ULN * Lymphopenia grade 3 * No other condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, would preclude compliance with study requirements PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * See Disease Characteristics * No systemic corticosteroids within the past 3 weeks * Concurrent systemic corticosteroids allowed in the short term only * Physiologic replacement doses of steroids allowed * No prior vaccination with a vaccine that includes all or part of the reverse transcriptase of HIV-1 * No other concurrent investigational drugs or vaccinations * No concurrent lamivudine or emtricitabine