HIV Research
Cell-to-Cell HIV Transmission
10 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Research
Combating Cell-to-Cell HIV Transmission
HIV viruses can spread in different ways. Some spread from one cell to another through plasma called cell-free transmission, and others spread directly between cells, or cell-to-cell. A recent study tested the ability of antiretroviral drugs to prevent cell-to-cell HIV transmission, which produced very valuable information in regards to how antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) are so effective and how to avoid the virus becoming resistant to the medications.
Researchers at a prominent American university came up with a way to examine the difference between cell-free and cell-to-cell HIV transmission. They went through and tested different types of HIV treatments to see how well they treated both types of virus transmission. These tests included non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), protease inhibitors (PIs), and entry inhibitors (ENT-Is), also called fusion inhibitors. The tests proved that all types of medication, with the exception of NRTIs, were very effective in treating cell-to-cell spread of the virus.
During these experiments, scientists also tested how these drugs react when treating cell-free transmission. When they added more viruses to a certain area of cells, raising the multiplicity of infection (MOI), they found that the drugs reacted much like they did when treating cell-to-cell transmission. In this instance, as in the one before, NRTIs did not do well in fighting the virus. Because there were a higher number of infected cells, the quantity of the drug necessary to combat it was also higher. The drugs were also more effective when combined, proving that combined ARTs are some of the most useful for suppressing HIV. No matter what a patient is prescribed, however, it is important that they take their medicine as ordered to avoid the cells becoming drug- resistant. In addition, for an HIV drug to be most effective, they must be able to handle a high MOI—that is, a high ratio of infectious cells to target cells—to effectively combat cell-to-cell HIV transmission.
Understanding Antibodies
10 years ago
Understanding Antibodies: The Next Step in HIV Vaccine Research
Researchers are looking at certain antibodies that seem to prevent the infection of HIV. They recognize the need to know what kind of response they need to trigger with a vaccine to make it the most effective. Understanding antibodies may be the next step in HIV vaccine research.
Based on past studies, many scientists have thought if the V1V2 regions of HIV were removed, the virus would be more susceptible to attacks by the body’s immune system, i.e. immunoglobulins, or antibodies, thus decreasing the viral load in the body. New studies, however, are finding that there is only one type of these immunoglobulins, IgG3, that can possibly lower the risk of infection by triggering an antiviral response.
Another study found that immunoglobulin G3, when used in vaccines, was involved in the HIV elimination process. Researchers found that the number of the antibody V1V2- IgG3 in the blood of the patient who had received the vaccine went down. The efficiency of the vaccines tested in this trial also went down by almost 50 percent over a three-and-a-half year period. To sum, this particular study showed that the vaccine scientists dubbed RV144 had some antibodies that could coordinate more than one organized process to get rid of HIV. These processes came mostly through the V1V2-IgG3 antibodies.
Further research is required to truly test the effectiveness of IgG3 antibodies in preventing HIV infection. Scientists also want to uncover the connection between the rapid decline in the amount of IgG3 and the efficiency of the trial vaccine. Understanding antibodies may unlock the key to discovering an effective HIV vaccine to eliminate the virus by building on the foundation laid by the success or failure of the previous test.
Geraniums May Fight HIV
10 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Research
A New Arsenal in the War Against HIV: Geraniums May Fight HIV
It’s not a new notion that something we find growing in the backyard could be useful for other applications apart from its intended use. That is what researchers have recently discovered about the humble, yet beautiful geranium plant. Geraniums may fight HIV and could have an important role on the war against HIV and AIDS. While it is still early, the results are nearly completely positive and continue to show promise.
Certain areas in Europe are already using the extract taken from the root of the geranium plant as medicinal therapy for such ailments as bronchitis. A group of researchers decided to see what effect, if any, this plant would have on HIV. When it was tested, it acted as a strong deterrent against the virus. It prevented invasion of key cells, such as those found in the blood and immune system. The geranium extract acts as a doorkeeper or guard for the healthy cells. When HIV tries to invade by attaching itself to cell receptors, it finds itself unable to do so. With all entrances blocked, infection is greatly slowed. This could mean developing new medications that would severely limit HIV and its means of invasion.
Further investigation has revealed a certain compound within the root extract called polyphenols. These substances when separated from the plant extract still carry a strong antiviral property. Geranium extract is safe to use as is, but polyphenols have been proven to be even less toxic to the body. It also does not require refrigeration, which would make it ideal (not to mention affordable) in areas where HIV is rampant but patients are unable to afford or refrigerate medications.
A safe and accessible potential new component of a drug, it appears geraniums may fight HIV just as effectively as current antiretroviral medications available now. Also, new therapies that incorporate the geranium extract could be on the market in a relatively short amount of time due to its hardy nature.
Low Cholesterol Helps HIV Immunity
10 years ago
Low Cholesterol Helps HIV Immunity: A Link that can Prevent AIDS Progression
With current HIV therapies, those who are HIV-positive can live for decades without the infection progressing to AIDS. The antiretroviral treatments given today greatly improve the quality of life for many. In the past, once a person became infected with HIV, it would only take 1-2 years for the infection to take hold and overwhelm the immune system. High mortality rates were a direct result of this quick-moving process. After decades of meticulous study, research and record-keeping, certain links have been discovered that could help fight off the infection within the body, namely low cholesterol helps HIV immunity.
While the average person once infected with HIV would manifest with AIDS quickly if left untreated, there is a small percentage of the population that could avoid this. Some could go as long as 10 years or more without HIV progressing to AIDS. Through careful documentation, the link may have been discovered. The common denominator seems to be low levels of cholesterol in certain immune system cells. The interesting part is that this level has nothing to do with blood cholesterol levels. It appears to be an inherent trait and is present even before an infection takes place. Seeing as HIV needs cholesterol within the cells to invade and replicate, low cholesterol helps HIV immunity by greatly slowing down the virus. The result is better protection against HIV and prevention of AIDS.
While researchers are not exactly sure how this works or why some have this trait, they are hopeful. By investigating further, a new way to treat and prevent AIDS could come about in the near future. The premise that low cholesterol helps HIV immunity has taken over a decade to deduce. Thanks to the painstaking tasks of monitoring and documenting what was observed through the years, these results could mean even better treatment options for those who are HIV-positive and possibly even help in preventing an initial infection.
Broadly Neutralizing HIV Antibodies
10 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Research
How Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies May Change the World for HIV
One of the things that make it so difficult for scientists to discover a vaccine or a cure for HIV is that the virus rapidly mutates. There are many strains of HIV around the world, mainly due to the virus’s propensity to mutate several times within a person in an effort to fight against treatment that is tailored to that individual. Broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies, however, can take on various versions of the retrovirus that are found across the globe.
Much of the data comes from the body of one woman in Africa whose immune system started creating these antibodies spontaneously when she became infected with the virus. Researchers were able to identify these antibodies within the woman, extract them, and proceeded to create clones of the antibodies in a laboratory. After conducting multiple experiments, the scientists postulated these so-called broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies could be the future of HIV research.
One thing researchers looked for is how the antibodies developed. They believe that this may be the key to unlocking a vaccine for HIV. Most people who become infected with the virus do produce antibodies, and thus able to be tested as positive, but do not create broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies and cannot effectively combat HIV in its multiple forms as the virus evades treatment within the body.
Animal studies are the next step for these broad-spectrum antibodies. Once they are deemed safe and effective, human trials follow. Scientists are in the process of cloning the antibodies to ensure supply lasts through the various levels of testing, and hopefully reach one step closer to a HIV vaccine, leading to disease eradication one day—just like smallpox.
