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Scientists glimpse a rare human antibody which protects against AIDS
August 08, 2001Scientists have obtained their first detailed glimpse of a rare antibody, called b12, which is capable of inactivating many different strains of HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. A crystal structure of b12 has been determined by scientists working at The Scripps Research Institute, California, and the Glycobiology Institute at Oxford University, which shows that the antibody has a long finger-like region on its surface that is able to penetrate the surface of the HIV virus and prevent it causing disease. It is hoped that the structure of this region may provide a basis for the design of effective vaccines against the HIV virus.
HIV damages the immune system by binding to special receptors, called CD4 receptors, which are found on the surface of specialised blood cells, such as T cells or macrophages, which defend the body against disease. The virus infects the cells via the receptors, and impairs their function so that patients with HIV become vulnerable to many different infections. b12 was first identified in the bone marrow of a 31 year old male who had been HIV positive without symptoms for six years and is believed to work by binding onto the area of the viral coat which interacts with CD4 receptors, neutralising it and making the virus unable to invade cells. Whilst the antibody is rare, its existence demonstrates that the human immune system is capable of raising antibodies that are effective against HIV, and scientists will now be investigating the ways in which this type of immune response can be triggered.
The search for a vaccine against HIV has been made particularly complicated by the fact that there are many subtypes of HIV. The b12 antibody appears to be effective against a wide variety of these isolates, as the region of b12 which binds the virus is shaped so that it can bind most of the viral strains and the paper, authored by Erica Ollmann Saphire and co-workers under the direction of Ian A. Wilson and Dennis R. Burton, offers a critical template for the design of HIV vaccines
Dr Pauline Rudd, a Reader in Glycobiology at the Department of Biochemistry, Oxford University, and Professor Raymond Dwek, Director of the Glycobiology Institute, said: "We are delighted to be collaborating with The Scripps Research Institute on this important project, which will hopefully offer real solutions to the problems of designing an effective virus against AIDS."
Oxford, University of
Dr Pauline Rudd, a Reader in Glycobiology at the Department of Biochemistry, Oxford University, and Professor Raymond Dwek, Director of the Glycobiology Institute, said: "We are delighted to be collaborating with The Scripps Research Institute on this important project, which will hopefully offer real solutions to the problems of designing an effective virus against AIDS."
Oxford, University of
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