Creation of HIV vaccine closer with new method of eliciting antibodies
Researchers are closer to developing an HIV vaccine by unlocking a key molecule responsible for developing antibodies鈥攕pecific proteins that attack viruses and protect from infection.
Faculty of Health Sciences professor Ralph Pantophlet and collaborators in Austria and the U.S. have published a paper in that describes a new method of 鈥榯ricking鈥� the immune system into reliably creating antibodies that can target HIV strains.
鈥淲e have identified a molecule that is similar to one found on HIV,鈥� says Pantophlet. 鈥淲hen we inject this molecule into animals, it helps generate antibodies able to target the virus.鈥�
Pantophlet says that the research requires further study before clinical testing on humans, but that the development is an important step to developing an HIV vaccine鈥攚hich could happen within the next 10 years under ideal conditions.
The technique could also be applied to other viruses, or cancers, and develop new treatments.