New combined antibody therapy can prevent HIV viral escape

Scientists from Germany utilised super-computing to select promising combinations of broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAb) base on HIV viral genetics. According to the experts, this approach means the virus is less likely to be able to evade treatment. The results of the study were published in the journal eLife.

Previous clinical trials have shown that the use of a single bNAb can lead to viral rebound in blood samples. This is due to the fact that some strains of HIV can survive the treatment process. In this situation, a combination of bNAbs may be a more effective approach.

In order to find the best combinations, Dr Colin LaMont and his colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organisation in Germany used a computational approach. The team used high-performance sequencing to analyse the generics of viral samples collected over 10 years from eleven people living with HIV who had not previous received therapy. The team then used this data to predict which viral strains might avoid treatment by various bNAbs. They then applied their computation approach to find the optimal combination of antibodies that is least likely to allow the virus to “slip away”.

According to the results of their study, the scientists came to the conclusion that the optimal combination includes three bNAbs: PG9, PGT151 and VRC01. This combination therapy targets three different areas of the HIV capsid, the virus’ protective outer shell, and reduces the likelihood of viral rebound to less than 1%.

Researchers suggest that the combination of bNAbs administered intravenously every few months, combined with modern antiretroviral therapy, can “improve the long-term success of HIV treatment” and suggest that more research is needed in this area.