New antibody may fight HIV better
LOS ANGELES: Scientists have identified a novel antibody that could more effectively detect and neutralise HIV virus in an infected patient. Proteins called broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs) are a promising key to the prevention of infection by HIV , the virus that causes AIDS.
The bNAbs have been found in blood samples from some HIV patients whose immune systems can naturally control the infection. These antibodies may protect a patient's healthy cells by recognising a protein called the envelope spike, present on the surface of all HIV strains and inhibiting, or neutralising, the effects of the virus.
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have discovered that one particular bNAb may be able to recognise this signature protein, even as it takes on different conformations during infection -making it easier to detect and neutralise the viruses in an infected patient. The study was published in the journal Cell.
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