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Generating a Novel Broadly Neutralizing HIV Vaccine Using Patient Derived Antibodies
Generating a Novel Broadly Neutralizing HIV Vaccine Using
Patient Derived Antibodies
There are currently more than 37 Million people living with Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) worldwide; an infection with a 10-year
mortality rate of 70%. This mortality rate remains high due to HIV’s
rapid mutation rate, allowing the virus to evade current forms of
treatment. To fight this devastating disease, researchers have been
tirelessly working to create a broadly neutralizing vaccine which
can prevent the infection of multiple strains. Up until recently,
most vaccine efforts were only able to elicit an affect against a
very small percentage of HIV strains. However, a newly published
manuscript in Nature Medicine from the Vaccine Research Center (VRC)
at the National Institutes of Heath (NIH) describes a novel vaccine
which can prevent infection of 31% (63 strains) of current HIV-1
strains. In order to accomplish this, Kai Xu and his team first
performed structural characterization on broadly neutralizing
antibodies isolated from HIV patients. Their analysis revealed a
specific site of vulnerability within the envelope (Env) of the
virus’ viral entry machinery; the viral component responsible for
fusion between HIV and its infective cell. Through further analysis
of the virus itself, they also identified a specific region which
was highly conserved amongst multiple HIV-1 strains within the
N-terminal of the HIV fusion peptide (fp); a critical component of
the viral entry machinery.
Reference
Xu, Kai, et al. "Epitope-based vaccine design yields fusion peptide-directed antibodies that neutralize diverse strains of HIV-1." bioRxiv (2018): 306282.
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There are currently more than 37 Million people living with Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) worldwide; an infection with a 10-year
mortality rate of 70%. This mortality rate remains high due to HIV’s
rapid mutation rate, allowing the virus to evade current forms of
treatment. To fight this devastating disease, researchers have been
tirelessly working to create a broadly neutralizing vaccine which
can prevent the infection of multiple strains. Up until recently,
most vaccine efforts were only able to elicit an affect against a
very small percentage of HIV strains. However, a newly published
manuscript in Nature Medicine from the Vaccine Research Center (VRC)
at the National Institutes of Heath (NIH) describes a novel vaccine
which can prevent infection of 31% (63 strains) of current HIV-1
strains. In order to accomplish this, Kai Xu and his team first
performed structural characterization on broadly neutralizing
antibodies isolated from HIV patients. Their analysis revealed a
specific site of vulnerability within the envelope (Env) of the
virus’ viral entry machinery; the viral component responsible for
fusion between HIV and its infective cell. Through further analysis
of the virus itself, they also identified a specific region which
was highly conserved amongst multiple HIV-1 strains within the
N-terminal of the HIV fusion peptide (fp); a critical component of
the viral entry machinery.
