Immunotherapy will stop the development of AIDS

Scientists at the University of Melbourne, working under the guidance of Professor Stephen Kent, injected mice with freshly isolated blood cells mixed with oligopeptides (short proteins) repeating fragments of the amino acid sequence of viral proteins. In the laboratory model, such vaccination caused a very strong immune response, ensuring the body's ability to fight not only HIV, but also other infections that occur against the background of immunodeficiency.

To create a vaccine, the authors synthesized a complex of overlapping peptides based on viral RNA. Such peptides improve the ability of T-lymphocytes to recognize the presence of the virus in the body and increase the efficiency of the destruction of viral particles, which reduces the viral load and prevents the destruction of the immune system. This, in turn, increases the body's resistance to other infections.

Professor Kent claims that this method of immunotherapy can be used in combination with traditional antiretroviral drugs, compared with which it has a number of advantages: ease of use and fewer side effects.

These advantages ensure the prospects of immunotherapy for third world countries, for which the use of traditional drugs is difficult due to their high cost, as well as problems with delivery and use.

The effectiveness of immunotherapy may be reduced due to the ability of HIV to mutate rapidly and lose sensitivity to the measures used against it. However, the authors found that such mutations weaken the viability of the virus. They suggest that the gradual weakening of the virus mutating in the patient's body will increase his sensitivity to the effects of the immune system and slow down the progression of the disease.

The authors believe that the knowledge acquired during the development of immunotherapy about the behavior and weaknesses of HIV will help in solving the global task of creating a preventive vaccine against this disease.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on ScienceAlert materials

17.04.2008