Could this protein molecule be the basis for a universal HIV vaccine?

American biologists of the Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, have created a protein molecule that stimulates the production of antibodies to HIV. The effectiveness of the new substance has been so far been tested on mice. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Communication.

According to Dr Daniel Kulp, lead author of the study, this discovery will “accelerate the development of highly effective HIV vaccines”.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) penetrates human CD4 T-cells with the help of protein spikes on its capsid. The structure of these protein spikes changes as the virus reproduces and as such the human immune system is unable to produce new antibodies at the speed required to keep up.

This new protein molecule, developed by Dr Kulp and his colleagues, consists of several fragments of virus envelope. It interacts with human immune cells, forcing them to produce antibodies that connect to parts of the HIV envelope (C3V5) that barely change during reproduction.

Scientists at the Wistar Institute were able to significantly simplify the productions of the substate with a DNA molecule that encodes all “necessary” fragments of the HIV envelope.

Experiments with mice have shown that this DNA thread, introduced to the body’s cells, forces them to produce the necessary number of similar antigens. This, in turn, attracts the attention of the host’s immune system, after which it beings to produce universal antibodies to HIV. It is this mechanism that it is hoped will allow for broad-spectrum HIV vaccines in the “near future”.

Development of the protein is still ongoing, with refinements that are hoped will improve efficiency.

The process of creating an HIV vaccine has been the holy grail of medical research for the past 40 years. Hundreds of experimental compounds and trials have proven fruitless, but new developments such as this one - and Moderna’s mRNA platform - are giving a sense of renewed hope.