Special antibodies that neutralize the virus could be key

Scientists have taken an extra step in creating an HIV vaccine through a study on how certain human bodies attack the virus.

A team of Swiss scientists has studied the potential uses of special antibodies created by a minority of people infected with HIV-1, the most common form of HIV. These antibodies are special because they do not only attack one but almost all strains of the virus.

Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich have already spent years trying to understand why some people are creating these antibodies in the hope of developing an HIV vaccine .

They have previously identified potential factors, including the amount of HIV in a person's blood, the diversity of strains of the virus, the duration of a person's infection, and the ethnicity of a patient's system. immune.

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Huldrych Günthard, deputy director of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology at the University Hospital Zurich, said in a statement: "In our new study, we were able to identify another factor: the genome of the HIV virus ".

Data and blood samples from some 4,500 HIV-infected people who participated in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study and the HIV Primary Infection Studies in Zurich formed the basis of the survey.

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The researchers identified 303 patients likely to be infected with the same strain of the virus. These are called transmission pairs, where the genomic RNA of viruses (which helps genes to express them) is similar.

Dr. Roger Kouyos, Head of Research Group at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology at the University Hospital Zurich, explained in a statement: "By comparing the immune response of these pairs of patients, we could show that the HI virus [HIV] itself has an influence on the extent and specificity of antibody reactions. "

Antibodies attack HIV by binding to proteins on the surface of the virus called viral envelopes. Different strains and subtypes of viruses have different envelopes. The researchers perfected the transmission pairs whose antibodies were powerful.

Scientists have been studying how special antibodies could lead to an HIV vaccine. Getty Images

Dr. Alexandra Trkola, virologist and director of the Institute of Medical Virology of the University Hospital Zurich, said: "We have discovered that there must be a special envelope protein which provokes an effective defense. "

The next step is to use these results to create an HIV vaccine. Before this can happen, scientists must identify the envelope proteins and viral strains that cause the formation of these systemic antibodies.

Trkola said: "We have found a candidate and on that basis we now want to start developing an immunogen ourselves."

The research was published in the journal Nature. It follows a study conducted at Harvard Medical School showing that a jab could trigger immune responses against HIV and protect the monkeys from the virus.

Dr. Dan Barouch, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of the study, said: Newsweek at the moment the study was published in The lancet he was "cautiously optimistic" about the results. However, he stressed, there are many obstacles to overcome before a vaccine is deployed in humans.