New clue towards an AIDS vaccine
The outer shell of HIV has a vulnerable spot, which enabled two HIV-positive people to make antibodies powerful enough to kill off the majority of HIV types known globally.
A glycan, a form of sugar, in a specific part on the protein coat that covers HIV (location known as "position 332") is a vulnerable spot that allows the body to mount an effective attack using broadly neutralizing antibodies.
The scientists, from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, said their discovery offers new clues about stimulating the body to produce "broadly neutralizing antibodies". They believe these antibodies are key for making an AIDS vaccine, because they destroy most of the HIV types around the world. They published their findings in Nature Medicine (21 October, 2012 issue).
April 2013 - A step closer to an HIV vaccine
A team led by scientists from the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, and the NIH Vaccine Research Center say they have charted a new route that may help develop a vaccine which boosts an individual's ability to destroy HIV. They published their findings in the journal Nature (April 2013 issue).
Barton F. Haynes, M.D., John Mascola, M.D. and team stuied an HIV-infected patient whose immune system attacked the virus, allowing them to describe the co-evolution of the antibodies.
HIV has proven especially difficult in inducing an antibody response, making it very hard to develop a vaccine. As soon as HIV antibodies are produced, the virus changes rapidly to avoid them.
The team used a new form of technology that can detect infection early on and track the body's immune system.