More HIV breakthroughs: Antibodies protect against HIV infection - Polidicks

[h2]Biologists deliver neutralizing antibodies that protect against HIV infection in mice[/h2] [B] [IMG]http://s.ph-cdn.com/newman/gfx/news/hires/2011/caltechbiolo.jpg[/IMG][/B] [B][release] Over the past year, researchers at the California Institute of Technology, and around the world, have been studying a group of potent antibodies that have the ability to neutralize HIV in the lab; their hope is that they may learn how to create a vaccine that makes antibodies with similar properties. Now, biologists at Caltech led by Nobel Laureate David Baltimore, president emeritus and Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology, have taken one step closer to that goal: they have developed a way to deliver these antibodies to mice and, in so doing, have effectively protected them from HIV infection.[/release][/B][release] This new approach to HIV prevention -- called Vectored ImmunoProphylaxis, or VIP -- is outlined in the November 30 advance online publication of the journal Nature. Traditional efforts to develop a vaccine against HIV have been centered on designing substances that provoke an effective immune response -- either in the form of antibodies to block infection or T cells that attack infected cells. With VIP, protective antibodies are being provided up front. "VIP has a similar effect to a vaccine, but without ever calling on the immune system to do any of the work," says Alejandro Balazs, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral scholar in Baltimore's lab. "Normally, you put an antigen or killed bacteria or something into the body, and the immune system figures out how to make an antibody against it. We've taken that whole part out of the equation." Because mice are not sensitive to HIV, the researchers used specialized mice carrying human immune cells that are able to grow HIV. They utilized an adeno-associated virus (AAV) -- a small, harmless virus that has been useful in gene-therapy trials -- as a carrier to deliver genes that are able to specify antibody production. The AAV was injected into the leg muscle of mice, and the muscle cells then put broadly neutralizing antibodies into the animals' circulatory systems. After just a single AAV injection, the mice produced high concentrations of these antibodies for the rest of their lives, as shown by intermittent sampling of their blood. Remarkably, these antibodies protected the mice from infection when the researchers exposed them to HIV intravenously. The team points out that the leap from mice to humans is large -- the fact that the approach works in mice does not necessarily mean it will be successful in humans. Still, the researchers believe that the large amounts of antibodies that the mice were able to produce -- coupled with the finding that a relatively small amount of antibody has proved protective in the mice -- may translate into human protection against HIV infection. "We're not promising that we've actually solved the human problem," says Baltimore. "But the evidence for prevention in these mice is very clear." The paper also notes that in the mouse model, VIP worked even in the face of increased exposure to HIV. To test the efficacy of the antibody, the researchers started with a virus dose of one nanogram, which was enough to infect the majority of the mice who received it. When they saw that the mice given VIP could withstand that dose, they continued to bump it up until they were challenging them with 125 nanograms of virus. "We expected that at some dose, the antibodies would fail to protect the mice, but it never did -- even when we gave mice 100 times more HIV than would be needed to infect 7 out of 8 mice," says Balazs. "All of the exposures in this work were significantly larger than a human being would be likely to encounter." He points out that this outcome likely had more to do with the properties of the antibody that was tested than the method, but adds that VIP is what enabled the large amount of this powerful antibody to circulate through the mice and fight the virus. Furthermore, VIP is a platform technique, meaning that as more potent neutralizing antibodies are isolated or developed for HIV or other infectious organisms, they can also be delivered using this method. "If humans are like mice, then we have devised a way to protect against the transmission of HIV from person to person," says Baltimore. "But that is a huge if, and so the next step is to try to find out whether humans behave like mice." He says the team is currently in the process of developing a plan to test their method in human clinical trials. The initial tests will ask whether the AAV vector can program the muscle of humans to make levels of antibody that would be expected to be protective against HIV. "In typical vaccine studies, those inoculated usually mount an immune response -- you just don't know if it's going to work to fight the virus," explains Balazs. "In this case, because we already know that the antibodies work, my opinion is that if we can induce production of sufficient antibody in people, then the odds that VIP will be successful are actually pretty high." More information: "Antibody-based Protection Against HIV Infection by Vectored ImmunoProphylaxis," Nature, 2011. [/release] [URL="http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-biologists-neutralizing-antibodies-hiv-infection.html"]Source[/URL]

AIDS? That's so... retro.

[QUOTE=TheFilmSlacker;33517718]Can't wait until most STDs have a cure. Oh God, the freedom...[/QUOTE] The problem probably though is that once we cure all known STDs then people won't care about that and then they'll sleep around so much that new stds end up forming.

[quote=q]This new approach to HIV prevention -- called Vectored ImmunoProphylaxis, or VIP[/quote] And so it was that only the wealthy and influential would get the VIP treatment

[QUOTE=Death_God;33517728]AIDS? That's so... retro.[/QUOTE] Haha, I get it now...Because you know...It's a /retro/Virus...Get it?Guy's ,get it? It's funny.

[QUOTE=Death_God;33517728]AIDS? That's so... retro.[/QUOTE] Jokes on you, AIDS isn't a virus!

Man I don't know about this... science is so evil. I heard some Austrian scientist put cats in boxes and poisoned them and stuff. :tinfoil:

[QUOTE=Maucer;33519153]Man I don't know about this... science is so evil. I heard some Austrian scientist put cats in boxes and poisoned them and stuff. :tinfoil:[/QUOTE] No...

[QUOTE=Maucer;33519153]Man I don't know about this... science is so evil. I heard some Austrian scientist put cats in boxes and poisoned them and stuff. :tinfoil:[/QUOTE] [B] THAT BASTARD![/B]

[QUOTE=asteroidrules;33517844]The problem probably though is that once we cure all known STDs then people won't care about that and then they'll sleep around so much that new stds end up forming.[/QUOTE]One disease cured, 10 take it's place; one must always remain vigilant.

[QUOTE=TheFilmSlacker;33517718]Can't wait until most STDs have a cure. Oh God, the freedom...[/QUOTE] And there will still be the most dangerous std out there and no one will be able to remove it. BABIES.

[QUOTE=jonoPorter;33521315]No...[/QUOTE] Yes it's true, I swear ! I heard it from my friend. Just look how cruel science is ! [img]http://bp2.blogger.com/_yt0gA6LoTg0/SBLC_jngG8I/AAAAAAAAAOM/8UpVZ869qYU/s320/schrodinger-cat-gets-it.JPG[/img] [img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/4025336196_17953a7ec2.jpg[/img]

I don't think these types of things will be cured think about how much money is made off of people who need treatment for AIDS or cancer they wouldn't stop that

I don't think they make that much out of treatment for aids, as there really isn't one. A cure for aids could make you a multimillionare any day. And the medical industry isn't a single company, so if someone finds a really good way to cure cancer he'll have a massive competition benefit. Plus a nobel certainly.

[QUOTE=Maucer;33519153]Man I don't know about this... science is so evil. I heard some Austrian scientist put cats in boxes and poisoned them and stuff. :tinfoil:[/QUOTE] It's okay, the cat was invincible.

Finally i can have sex with my ex-bf without having panic attacks about aids.

Any information about how they are going to go about the human trials? From the article it sounds like they would have to infect the patient with the HIV and see if the antibodies formed thanks to the VIP. If that doesn't work, the patient would then be infected with HIV. Just curious, any information on how they plan to avoid that issue?

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;33522005]And there will still be the most dangerous std out there and no one will be able to remove it. BABIES.[/QUOTE] [IMG]http://www.clker.com/cliparts/Q/0/k/Y/a/1/coat-hanger-hi.png[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Atlascore;33544838]No, indefinitely more money would be made off cures than treatment for things like STDs.[/QUOTE] no, cures are one time uses, treatment is constant. don't rate him dumb for things you don't understand.

The problem with vaccinations like this is it would likely still be around in other animals and evolve to be more potent and resistant to the antibodies.

[QUOTE=Miskav;33544727][IMG]http://www.clker.com/cliparts/Q/0/k/Y/a/1/coat-hanger-hi.png[/IMG][/QUOTE] I prefer the [I]"falling down a long flight of stairs"[/I] approach. It only requires a push and the work is done.

[QUOTE=Van-man;33548414]I prefer the [I]"falling down a long flight of stairs"[/I] approach. It only requires a push and the work is done.[/QUOTE] Well the work is actually done when they have started falling because W=FcosΘΔD

[QUOTE=salty peanut v2;33524888]I don't think these types of things will be cured think about how much money is made off of people who need treatment for AIDS or cancer they wouldn't stop that[/QUOTE] I think people are quite paranoid about pharmaceutical companies, they aren't that heartless. Plus they will still make loads (possibly more) money from the vaccine, as instead of only giving treatment to the select few who are infected, most countries will probably provide the vaccines to all its citizens, which is a lot more people.

Nobody cares about aids anymore, it's old 80's/90's stuff. Cancer is the big problem now.

[QUOTE=salty peanut v2;33524888]I don't think these types of things will be cured think about how much money is made off of people who need treatment for AIDS or cancer they wouldn't stop that[/QUOTE] Let's cure money then. Money is a evil disease that consumes 99.9999999999% of the planet.

[QUOTE=bull3tmagn3t;33553599]Well the work is actually done when they have started falling because W=FcosΘΔD[/QUOTE] :golfclap:

[QUOTE=bull3tmagn3t;33553599]Well the work is actually done when they have started falling because W=FcosΘΔD[/QUOTE] Could I get that in english?

[QUOTE=salty peanut v2;33524888]I don't think these types of things will be cured think about how much money is made off of people who need treatment for AIDS or cancer they wouldn't stop that[/QUOTE] except they would because if word got out that they had a cure for a widespread deadly disease all along everyone would flip their shit

But how is the government going to oppress blacks and homosexuals now?

[QUOTE=Maucer;33519153]Man I don't know about this... science is so evil. I heard some Austrian scientist put cats in boxes and poisoned them and stuff. :tinfoil:[/QUOTE] He [I]may[/I] have poisoned them. If we leave the boxes closed they will live on forever in a determinate state.