A new approach to HIV vaccine development

 

To support their research for a vaccine against the HI-Virus, Prof. Dr. Klaus Überla of the Faculty for Medicine at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and his research team will receive $2.3 million in funding within the next three years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The scientists are part of the Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD), which seeks to speed up the development of an HIV-vaccine through a rigorous exchange of information, methods and reagents. “The project rests upon our observation that certain immunological reactions seem to increase the risk of HIV-infection,” Prof. Überla said. “We want to avoid these kinds of harmful immune system responses while still creating protective antibodies.”

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Research breakthrough opens door to new strategy for battling HIV

 

New research showing how the HIV virus targets “veterans” or memory T-cells could change how drugs are used to stop the virus, according to new research by George Mason University.

The research will appear in the Journal of Biological Chemistry‘s October edition and currently is available online.

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Compound discovered that boosts effect of vaccines against HIV and flu

 

Oxford University scientists have discovered a compound that greatly boosts the effect of vaccines against viruses like flu, HIV and herpes in mice.

An ‘adjuvant’ is a substance added to a vaccine to enhance the immune response and offer better protection against infection.

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Bone marrow transplant eliminates signs of HIV infection

 

Two men with longstanding HIV infections no longer have detectable HIV in their blood cells following bone marrow transplants. The virus was easily detected in blood lymphocytes of both men prior to their transplants but became undetectable by eight months post-transplant. The men, who were treated at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), have remained on anti-retroviral therapy. Their cases will be presented on July 26, 2012 at the International AIDS Conference by Timothy Henrich, MD and Daniel Kuritzkes, MD, physician-researchers in the Division of Infectious Diseases at BWH.

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Researchers developing bioadhesive gel to protect women from HIV and HSV infections

A new grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will support the development of a topical microbicide gel for drug delivery. The innovative gel formulation will be a combination therapy against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections in women.

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Scripps Research scientists show potent new compound virtually eliminates HIV in cell culture

 

A new study by scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute shows, in cell culture, a natural compound can virtually eliminate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected cells. The compound defines a novel class of HIV anti-viral drugs endowed with the capacity to repress viral replication in acutely and chronically infected cells.

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New drug-screening method yields long-sought anti-HIV compounds

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have used a powerful new chemical-screening method to find compounds that inhibit the activity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. Unlike existing anti-HIV drugs, the compounds bind to a protein called “nucelocapsid,” which is unlikely to mutate into drug-resistant forms.

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Antiretroviral treatment for preventing HIV infection: an evidence review for physicians

While immediate postexposure treatment for suspected HIV is critical, pre-exposure preventive treatment is a newer method that may be effective for people in high-risk groups, states a review of evidence published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

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Newly discovered breast milk antibodies help neutralize HIV

Antibodies that help to stop the HIV virus have been found in breast milk. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center isolated the antibodies from immune cells called B cells in the breast milk of infected mothers in Malawi, and showed that the B cells in breast milk can generate neutralizing antibodies that may inhibit the virus that causes AIDS.

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Study using stem cell therapy shows promise in fight against HIV

UC Davis Health System researchers are a step closer to launching human clinical trials involving the use of an innovative stem cell therapy to fight the virus that causes AIDS.

In a paper published in the May issue of the Journal of Virology, the UC Davis HIV team demonstrated both the safety and efficacy of transplanting anti-HIV stem cells into mice that represent models of infected patients. The technique, which involves replacing the immune system with stem cells engineered with a triple combination of HIV-resistant genes, proved capable of replicating a normally functioning human immune system by protecting and expanding HIV-resistant immune cells. The cells thrived and self-renewed even when challenged with an HIV viral load.

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