A team of researchers from the United States has identified three natural antibodies that are capable of neutralizing more than 90 percent of the main strains of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) , according to an article published in the journal Science . The scientists, led by Xueling Wu of the US National Institutes of Health, say that although little is known about these antibodies, they could help in the design of effective AIDS vaccines and therapies.
Finding antibodies capable of neutralizing HIV strains anywhere in the world has been very difficult until now because this virus continually changes to evade the immune system and prevent it from recognizing it . The new work, however, focuses on an area that remains consistent across all variants of HIV. It is a protein of its envelope known as gp120 , which binds with the area or group of differentiation 4 (CD4), which is the receptor or main entry gate of the virus in T lymphocytes, responsible for defending the body from invasions. By focusing their research on natural antibodies linked to the binding site between the gp120 protein and CD4, the scientists were able to isolate the individual cells that produce such antibodies, and identified three very potent neutralizers against HIV-1.
In other research published inScience, Tongging Zhou and his team, also from the National Institutes of Health, analyzed the crystal structure of one of these newly identified antibodies, called VRC01, as it forms a complex with the HIV-1 protein envelope. The VRC01, they explain, is oriented towards a site that does not vary between the different strains of the virus, which accounts for its broad neutralization capacities. “In this way, the VRC01 antibody is capable of neutralizing the virus and disrupting its fatal pathology,” the researchers conclude.
More than 33 million people suffer from AIDS today, and at least 2.7 million new HIV infections occur each year. Furthermore, only one in eight patients has access to antiretroviral therapies used to treat this immunodeficiency.
