new strategy of delivering the HIV vaccine could probably pave the way to the
availability of a vaccine for the chronic immune disease
- HIV is currently managed with a combination of anti-HIV
- The medications are sometimes beyond the reach of those who
- A vaccine could be a boon to several individuals exposed to
this deadly viral infection
. A study
indicating the same was published in the Immunity
virus, the virus that causes AIDS
, reduces the
immunity to such an extent that the person becomes prone to various infections
and cancers that are not as common in people with normal immunity. Two approaches
were adopted to deal with the increasing number of HIV incidences. One approach
was aimed at developing drugs that
maintain the immunity levels in the individual after the patient was exposed to
. The second approach was to prevent
the infection, through education, and the development of a vaccine
the development of drugs has taken giant leaps and drug combinations have been
able to prolong lives, the development of a vaccine has faced several hurdles,
and has yet to see the light of day.
‘Breakthrough in the development of the HIV vaccine could see the vaccine entering clinical trials in the near future.’
barrier to vaccine development was the inability of the tested vaccines to
reliably generate neutralizing antibodies
. Antibodies are
proteins that develop after exposure to the viral protein, and protect against
future infection. Neutralizing antibodies are antibodies that attach themselves
to the invading virus and prevent them from establishing themselves in the
body. The trimeric envelope immunogens used in the recent vaccines closely
mimic the antigens on the HIV virus, and appear to produce good antibody
response. However, the response produced is not reliable.
from the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the La Jolla Institute for
Allergy and Immunology (LJI) claim that they might have found an answer to this
problem of generating and maintaining neutralizing antibodies by altering the
way the vaccine is administered
The team conducted their
studies in rhesus macaques. The macaques are considered a good model since
their immune systems appear to be very similar to those of humans. The team
tested various vaccines as well as different strategies of administration. They
found that, by changing the strategies used to administer the vaccine
, a good immune response could be achieved.
These methods included:
- Administering the
vaccine subcutaneously, that is, just below the skin instead of the usual
- Increasing the
time intervals between the first and second vaccination dosage from the
usual 4 to 6 weeks to 8 weeks.
- Administering the
vaccine slowly and continuously over 2 weeks through osmotic pumps.
However, this may not be a practical option.
The above strategies
resulted in the development of the neutralizing antibodies after 10 weeks. This
was in contrast to the development of antibodies after 3 to 6 months, as noted
in HIV-infected individuals.
The research team
also feel that the use of a stronger adjuvant and bilateral immunizations in
the study could have also contributed to the better effectiveness of the
Thus, by altering the
way in which the vaccine is administered, one might arrive at a much better
response. The use of such strategies might help to create a vaccine that could
save millions, exposed to the deadly HIV virus in the near future.
- Pauthner M et al. "Elicitation of robust Tier 2 neutralizing antibody responses in non-human primates by HIV envelope trimer immunization using optimized approaches." Immunity (2017). Doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2017.05.007.