A combination of antibodies effective against HIV opens the door to a vaccine

AndrewLozovyi/epictura

Published the 18.01.2018 at 13: 13
Update the 18.01.2018 at 13: 30

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25 000 people in France were unaware of their hiv status, according to Aids Info Service. 75 000 self-tests for HIV have been sold this year in the pharmacies. The challenge for researchers today is to find a drug that would serve as protection against AIDS.
Some antibodies are effective in the prevention of HIV, and could serve as a treatment according to us researchers. Their study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The effectiveness of antibodies bnAbs

The bnAbs are of antibody neutralization of HIV, but the virus has the ability to mutate, and become resistant to these antibodies. A bnAb alone does not, therefore, fight against all forms of HIV which may be present in the body of an infected individual. Scientists are therefore looking for combinations of different bnAbs.
The combination of three of these antibodies has proved effective in the animal. “We think that the bnAbs are like signposts, they show a path that could be followed for the development of a future vaccine against AIDS thanks to the introduction of bnAbs can prevent HIV infection,” says David Margolis, co-author of the study.

A less restrictive

If these antibodies are a hope for the creation of a vaccine, they will also be used as a treatment for infected people. They might be able to reduce the number of shots, and in combination with other therapeutic agents, they could also help rid the body of the virus.

The HIV research progresses, at the beginning of the month of January, a study published in Nature Communications indicated the possibility of a weekly treatment to cure the disease. Today, hiv-positive people must take their use of triple therapy each day.