Interesting Facts Of Tripl

AIDS: New vaccine candidate

HIV in TEM

medicine. French researchers have succeeded in female macaques by an experimental vaccine to protect against AIDS infection. This breakthrough, on 25 February 2011 in the journal Immunology was published, the result of a 15-year research on the penetration of the virus in the body and the local immunity of the mucous membranes. On this project, researchers at the University of Paris Descartes, CNRS and Inserm from the Cochin Institute and the American company Mymetics (Nyon, Switzerland) were involved. This research was funded by the French Institute for AIDS and Hepatitis Research (ANRS), SIDACTION - Together Against AIDS and the Foundation for Medical Research (FRM). The aim of most research is to stimulate the production of antibodies in the blood and / or killer cells against HIV. The innovation of this new vaccine candidate is that it triggers the production of antibodies in the mucous membranes. These antibodies can work against HIV infection very early, by preventing the propagation of the virus and its spread in the blood.

The vaccine was five female macaques (Macaca mulatta) were administered intramuscularly and the nose. After six months they were exposed to 13 times the HIV through vaginal inoculation. Another six months later they were tested: they were HIV-negative. A comparative analysis of antibodies produced by vaccination in the blood and the mucous membranes were injected, shows that the macaques were protected only through the specific antibodies of the mucosal surface of virus prior to infection. This type of antibody was detected even in women who thus were immune to AIDS in a natural way, even if they had unprotected sex. "For this reason, we believe that our vaccine candidate simulates this type of natural defense," said Morgane Bomsel, a researcher at the CNRS. The vaccine showed relatively good results in vitro against the HIV subtypes B and C, which are responsible for 95% of cases in the United States, Europe and India.

"There is still a lot of work ahead of us," said Morgane Bomsel. Because the results are only partially valid: The vaccine has only been tested on female monkeys and protects only against a non-traumatic vaginal infection, which does not necessarily reflect reality. Next, the vaccine must be tested on male and its effectiveness compared to other sexual infection routes (rectum, oropharynx, and urogenital tract) were examined. Ultimately, the study over a longer period be continued to assess in particular the duration of the protective immune response.

Source: idw