Two New Antibodies Found to Cripple HIV

Two new broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) could be the key to the effort to develop a vaccine against acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI; La Jolla, CA, USA) and at biotechnology companies Theraclone Sciences (Seattle, WA, USA) and Monogram Biosciences (San Francisco, CA, USA) discovered the new bNAbs, called PG9 and PG16, which target a region of the viral spike glycoproteins--termed gp120 and gp41--that are highly variable and have evolved to thwart immune attack. But biochemical studies suggest that PG9 and PG16 target regions of gp120 that do not change, which could account for their breadth of neutralization. The new bNAbs are the first to have been identified in more than a decade, and are the first to have been isolated from donors in developing countries, where the majority of new HIV infections occur. The researchers will now try to exploit the newfound vulnerability on the virus to craft novel approaches to designing an AIDS vaccine.

"The findings themselves are an exciting advance toward the goal of an effective AIDS vaccine because now we've got a new, potentially better target on HIV to focus our efforts for vaccine design,” said Wayne Koff, senior vice president of research and development at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI; New York, NY, USA). "And having identified this one, we are set up to find more, which should further accelerate global efforts in AIDS vaccine development.”

"The story of the discovery of these two new antibodies demonstrates the challenges of AIDS vaccine research but also the power of the collaboration that formed to produce this advance. This is what can happen when you have researchers from the global North and South, from academia and industry, from within and outside the HIV field, working together in a framework to speed innovation," said Seth Berkley, president and CEO of IAVI. "By working in this manner, I am confident we will continue to move toward solving the AIDS vaccine challenge, one of the greatest scientific and public health challenges of our time."

Breadth of neutralization is important because any effective AIDS vaccine must provide protection from a diverse range of the most prevalent types of HIV circulating worldwide. High potency suggests that such antibodies will not have to be produced by the body in very large quantities to confer protection.

Related Links:
The Scripps Research Institute
Theraclone Sciences
Monogram Biosciences
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative