July 13, 2010 | Health Matters

Progress in hunt for AIDS vaccine

Researchers at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have reported the discovery of two naturally occurring antibodies that may block HIV.  In lab experiments the antibodies had successfully prevented more than 90% of circulating HIV strains from infecting human cells.

Because HIV is constantly mutating it can elude attacks from antibodies created by the immune system. The two new antibodies work by blocking a protein on the surface of HIV that the virus normally uses to gain access to healthy cells.

So far the newly discovered antibodies have been tested only in the laboratory, but researchers hope to begin animal studies to determine whether they can prevent HIV infection in a living system as well they do in the lab. If all goes as hoped -- and it's a big if -- then further research will follow to develop and test a vaccine suitable for humans.