(RxWiki News) A new observation of the relationship between the HIV virus and certain antibodies is very exciting news from the land down under.
Australian researchers have observed interplay between the human antibodies called ADCC in people with HIV. The observation shows the virus trying to escape or evade ADCC.
"ADCC antibodies can lead to development of a vaccine for AIDS."
Professor Stephen Kent of the University of Melbourne and one of the senior authors on the paper explain that for a while now, ADCC antibodies have been guarding against HIV in several vaccine trials, but no one really understood why.
Kent continues to explain that the present results show what a slippery customer the HIV virus is. In addition to that, it reveals that these ADCC antibodies are really forcing the virus to change and become weaker.
It also implies that if good ADCC antibodies were available prior to infection, via a vaccine, we might be able to stop the virus taking hold: The holy grail for killing HIV.
This research group is now working on HIV vaccines to induce ADCC antibodies which will make it more difficult for the virus to escape.
The Study
- The team led by Dr Ivan Stratov and Professor Kent employed a novel technology developed in their laboratory to find where ADCC antibodies were attacking the virus
- Looked at how the sequence of the virus had mutated over time to avoid the immune response
- Studies suggest ADCC responses supply significant immune pressure on the virus
