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New proteins may lead to HIV vaccine
Saturday September 19, 2009
In what is being considered as one of the biggest breakthroughs in HIV research in 15 years, scientists have identified two highly potent antibodies that may be able to defend against every kind of virus.
According to US scientists, the new vaccine could come from a HIV infected patient who did not show any of the symptoms, who when tested showed that two infection-fighting proteins, which upon examination were able to neutralised all major groups of HIV. Scientists are now attempting to identify how these proteins bind to the HIV strand, thereby showing how vaccines could penetrate and target elements susceptible to attack.
It is thought that by understanding how these proteins defend and neutralised against HIV, gene therapies could be developed to protect people from infection, but also treat people already infected with HIV.
Experts in the field have cautioned that the research is in its early stages, with HIV being highly adaptable as it HIV mutates rapidly in both the community and even within one person, which is why previous trial vaccines have proven ineffective.
As it stands now, 33 million people are infected with HIV worldwide with approximately 2 million people dying every year.
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