Antibodies against immunodeficiency
The combination of antibodies protected macaques from the immunodeficiency virus for 20 weeks
Alexandra Kochetkova, N+1
Just one injection of modified antibodies protects macaques from the monkey immunodeficiency virus for an average of 20 weeks, according to a study published in Nature Medicine. The results of this work in the future may help in the development of injections for the prevention of HIV infection.
The human immunodeficiency virus appeared at the beginning of the XX century as a result of a mutation from the monkey immunodeficiency virus. These viruses are very close, and the monkey immunodeficiency virus serves as a model for developing HIV treatment. HIV research has been conducted for more than 30 years, but there is still no vaccine or effective and safe treatment. In an attempt to create a vaccine, antibodies that are produced in people with HIV are widely studied – they are able to block most of the circulating strains. At the moment, antibodies are undergoing clinical trials to control the level of the virus in infected people and tests on monkeys to find out whether antibodies can prevent infection with the monkey immunodeficiency virus. Clinical trials have shown that the antibodies remain active when administered to another person and do not cause harm – in an earlier work of the authors, the VRC01 antibody was studied, which gives protection against the immunodeficiency virus for an average of 8 weeks, and with gene modification with the replacement of two amino acids – up to 14 weeks.
In a new paper, Malcolm Martin from the National Institutes of Health and his colleagues investigated two antibodies – 10-1074 and 3BNC117 – that neutralize HIV. The scientists conducted tests with each of the antibodies in natural form, with each of the antibodies after replacing two amino acids in them, as well as with a combination of modified antibodies. When the antibody was administered intravenously to 10-1074 macaques, the protective effect from the monkey immunodeficiency virus lasted on average 12.5 weeks. Gene modification of just two amino acids in this antibody increased protection against the virus to an average of 27 weeks. With intravenous administration of 3BNC117, protection lasted an average of 13 weeks, and after replacing two amino acids – 17 weeks. The scientists then combined both modified antibodies to create protection against genetically diverse strains. The combination of antibodies was administered subcutaneously, and the content of each of the antibodies was reduced three times compared to single-component injections. The combined injection provided protection against the monkey immunodeficiency virus for up to 20 weeks on average.
Obtaining long-term protection against the immunodeficiency virus in macaques with a single injection can become the basis for the development of a preventive injection for humans. However, it is worth noting that protection from the monkey immunodeficiency virus cloned in the laboratory does not yet mean successful resistance to naturally genetically diverse HIV strains, so the effectiveness of protection against various strains has yet to be investigated.
About one and a half million people are carriers of HIV in Russia alone. The search for a truly effective cure for HIV is conducted not only with the help of antibodies, but also with the help of CRISPR/ Cas9 technology, which is written about in our material "Remember these letters". This technology allows you to edit the genome of an HIV-infected cell and purify it of viral genes, which can potentially completely rid a person of HIV in the future. In June 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution setting a goal to put an end to the epidemic by 2030.
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