Scientists identify how a novel class of antibodies inhibits HIV infection

Featured In: Disease Research

By EurekAlert Monday, April 5, 2024

Loading...

DURHAM, N.C. – Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified a set of naturally occurring antibodies that can block one of the key ways the AIDS virus gains entry into certain blood cells. They say the discovery, published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, expands traditional notions about how the immune system fights HIV and offers a potential new strategy for HIV vaccine design.

Researchers have been puzzled and frustrated for years by antibody responses to HIV. In most infections, antibodies that fight off invading pathogens show up quickly and get right to work. But with HIV, the most powerful antibodies typically don't materialize until weeks or even months after initial infection – way too late to be effective.

"The beauty of this newly identified set of antibodies – called polyreactive anti-phospholipid antibodies – is that they are so potent against the type of virus that establishes infection during mucosal transmission," says Anthony Moody, M.D., a member of the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) at Duke and lead author of the study appearing in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. "Our research suggests we may be able to harness them and enhance their anti-viral activity with a vaccine to fight HIV directly," Moody says.

Moody says the antibodies, PGN632, P1, IS4 and CL1, do not appear to have any pathogenic features, even though other members of the class do. Earlier studies by others have demonstrated that anti-phospholipid antibodies have anti-viral effects, but "what we have done in this paper is to show how they do that," Moody says.

Through a series of laboratory tests on blood taken from HIV-infected patients as well as healthy volunteers, Moody discovered that when these antibodies bind to white blood cells (monocytes), it causes them to secrete substances called chemokines that block HIV from docking with its favorite entry point into a blood cell, the CCR5 receptor. "In other words, they don't go after individual viral particles directly, but instead, indirectly, by creating a chemical roadblock at one of the virus' most commonly used portals."

That doesn't happen all the time, however. The study showed antiviral activity in only 85 percent of the blood they tested – and only in the presence of monocytes.

Investigators believe the finding has particular strategic importance because most of the HIV strains use the CCR5 receptor to gain entry into a cell. Since it is one of the earliest events in the process of infection, being able to potentially intervene at that juncture could be meaningful.

While the findings still have to be tested clinically, they do suggest a new way the immune system might be manipulated to thwart HIV, said Barton Haynes, M.D., director of CHAVI and the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and senior author of the study. "There are two parts of the immune system—the innate and adaptive components—and this study shows a vaccine that could elicit these polyreactive antibodies could recruit both components to fight HIV."

"We have long assumed that a successful vaccine would probably need to attack HIV on multiple fronts," Haynes says. "These findings have given us one more potential way to use the immune system to fight HIV."

SOURCE

Join the Discussion
Rate Article: Average 0 out of 5
register or log in to comment on this article!

0 Comments

Add Comment

Text Only 2000 character limit

Page 1 of 1

Research Exchange

Successful Sample Identification

Apr 1

2D Barcodes ensure that a multitude of samples can be tracked in a variety of storage conditions.

Multi-Parametric Cellular Analysis

Mar 23

Flow cytometers perform a variety of multi parametric applications and have been used for an expanding set of cell analysis applications over the past forty years.

Maintaining a Healthy Cell Culture Environment

Mar 23

Investing in best practices and products at the beginning of any experiment is the most time- and cost-effective way to approach cell culture.

Publishing Data That Conform to the MIQE Guidelines

Jan 22

Minimum information for publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines help researchers design qPCR experiments.

Step up to the MIQE

Mar 30

Over the years, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has evolved into a readily automated, high throughput quantitative technology. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) has become the industry standard for the detection and quantification of nucleic acids for multiple application, including quantification of RNA levels. But a lack of consensus among researchers on how to best perform and interpret qPCR experiments presents a major hurdle for advancement of the technology. This problem is exacerbated by insufficient experimental detail in published work, which impedes the ability of others to accurately evaluate or replicate reported results.

Fast Optimization of a Multiplex Influenza Identification Panel Using a Thermal Gradient

Mar 30

The year 2009 was marked by the emergence of a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus that infects humans. There is a need to identify the different strains of influenza virus for purposes of monitoring the H1N1 strain pandemic and for other epidemiological and scientific purposes.

Advantages of Monolithic Laser Combiner Technology in Confocal Microscopy Systems

Jan 6

Fluorescence microscopy techniques require a reliable light source at the desired wavelength or wavelengths, with minimal downtime for maintenance and alignment. Lasers are a popular light source, although the alignment and upkeep of laser combiners is a time-consuming prospect for many users.

Size-Exclusion Chromatography for Purification of Biomolecules

Dec 2 2009

Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) is a popular method to separate biomolecules based on their size. Primarily, it is applied to the separation of biopolymers such as proteins and nucleic acids, i.e. water-soluble polymers.

Using the Tecan Genesis Workstation to Automate a Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) Immunoassay

Mar 11

The poster describe the process involved in automating a Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) immunoassay developed to measure relative concentrations of serum antibodies against Tetanus (TT), Sperm Whale Myoglobin (SWM) and Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) in KLH-immunized volunteers.

Ensuring Quality in Assays Performed with Automated Liquid Handlers

Feb 2

The focus of this presentation is to highlight the need of ensuring quality in important assays performed with automated liquid handlers. Nearly all assays performed within a laboratory are volume-dependent. In turn, all concentrations of biological and chemical components in these assays, as well as the associated dilution protocols, are volume-dependent. Because analyte concentration is volume-dependent, an assay’s results might be falsely interpreted if liquid handler variability and inaccuracies are unknown or if the system(s) go unchecked for a long period.

Inkjet System for Protein Crystallography

Feb 1

X-ray crystallography is used routinely by scientists to obtain the three dimensional structure of a biological molecule of interest.Such information can be used to determine how a pharmaceutical interacts with a protein target and what changes might improve functionality. However, the crystallization of macromolecules still remains a serious hindrance in structural determination despite impressive advances in screening methods and technologies.

Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity in a Drosophila Memory Mutant

Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity in a Drosophila Memory Mutant

Nov 9 2009

Action selection is modulated by external stimuli either directly or via memory retrieval. In a constantly changing environment, animals have evolved attention-like processes to effectively filter the incoming sensory stream. These attention-like processes, in turn, are modulated by memory. The neurobiological nature of how attention, action selection and memory are inter-connected is unknown. We describe here new phenotypes of the memory mutant radish in the fruit fly Drosophila.

Type D personality among noncardiovascular patient populations: a systematic review.

Mar 30

OBJECTIVE: This article reviews all available literature concerning the implications of Type D personality (the conjoint effects of negative affectivity and social inhibition) among patients with noncardiovascular conditions. METHODS: Published papers were included if they...

STAT3 polymorphisms linked with idiopathic recurrent miscarriages.

Mar 30

PROBLEM: We investigated the association of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT)3 gene variants with idiopathic recurrent miscarriage (RM). METHOD OF STUDY: A case-control study involving 189 RM patients and 244 control women was carried out. STAT3...

Prokariotic Cell Collection in Denmark

Nov 6 2009

I would like to know about a prokariotic cell collection in Denmark. Is there a cell bank in this country? I need a Lactobacillus strain for a fermentation assay and this information about the bank is very helpful for me.

Request for Entries

Oct 16 2009

Ask the Experts is your chance to get the answers to questions on applications, materials, methods, processes, and technologies. Email you question to bst_web@advantagemedia.com, and the editors of Bioscience Technology will find an appropriate expert to answer it. Watch this space in the future to see the questions your colleagues are posting.

STAY INFORMED: SUBSCRIBE TO

Magazine and E-mail Newsletters

Loading...
E-mail:   

MULTIMEDIA

Video:

Neuroscience Diseases of The Brain and How The Mind Emerges

Neuroscience Diseases of The Brain and How The Mind Emerges

Nov 8 2009

Dennis Choi, director of Emory Universitys Neuroscience Center, is renowned for his groundbreaking research on brain and spinal cord injury.

Podcasts:

Allen Institute for Brain Research

Allen Institute for Brain Research

Oct 14 2009

Discussed in this interview are both the mouse brain project and the human cortex project with an emphasis on the importance of these projects to neuroscience research.

Information: