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| Credit - BSIP/UIG Via Getty Image |
Antibody 10-1074 could be key to creating a vaccine in the future
A human trial has shown tentative but significant progress towards a vaccine for HIV.
An HIV cure has eluded the scientific community for decades. Typically,
when a virus strikes, the body recognises the foreign entity and sends
in the troops to destroy it. The HIV virus gets around this by infecting
the immune system’s first port of call - the T-cells. In the process,
they are destroyed or hijacked to help create new HIV viruses.
Now, a study in Nature Medicine has shown that the antibody
10-1074 can effectively neutralise the virus by targeting a structure on
the HIV envelope protein known as V3 loop. During trials, volunteers –
19 of which have the virus, 14 of which don't – were given differing
doses of the antibody. It was shown to be safe, and induce high
antiviral activity in all participants. In particular, among the 13
volunteers with the highest levels of HIV (most were taking
antiretroviral medication to subdue it), 11 exhibited a fast drop in
levels.
"These antibodies are highly potent and are able to effectively
neutralise a large number of different HIV strains,” co-author on the
paper, Florian Klein of the University of Cologne, said. “Therefore,
they play an important role in the quest for and development of an HIV
vaccine."
As the trials continued, the HIV virus was seen to mutate to defend
against the introduction of 10-1074 meaning a variety of antibodies
appears to be needed to truly eradicate the virus in a treatment or
vaccine form. Further research into the specific antibody is slated for
the next few months.
This study also adds to a body of work from other researchers across the globe similarly hunting for a vaccine. Last year, great strides were made in a UK trial
that combines antiretroviral drugs with a drug that reactivates dormant
HIV, and a vaccine that stimulates the immune system. It was reported
that the blood of a 44-year-old male social care worker from London, the
first of 50 people involved in the study, showed no detectable signs of
HIV after the treatment took place.
"This is one of the first serious attempts at a full cure for HIV," Mark
Samuels, the managing director of the National Institute for Health
Research Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure, said at the time.
"We are exploring the real possibility of curing HIV. This is a huge
challenge and it’s still early days but the progress has been
remarkable."
The treatment developed by the UK scientists lures the virus from its
dormant state, then triggers a response from the body's immune system,
which then attacks it. The method, dubbed "kick and kill" (or "shock and
kill"), has been successful in lab tests. In 2014, the journal Cell
published research that researchers had "flushed" out the virus in
mice. "This is the first time the shock-and-kill approach designed to
flush out latent viruses has seen tangible success in an animal model,"
scientists said at the time.
The treatment developed by the UK scientists lures the virus from its
dormant state, then triggers a response from the body's immune system,
which then attacks it. The method, dubbed "kick and kill" (or "shock and
kill"), has been successful in lab tests. In 2014, the journal Cell
published research that researchers had "flushed" out the virus in
mice. "This is the first time the shock-and-kill approach designed to
flush out latent viruses has seen tangible success in an animal model,"
scientists said at the time.
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