The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Texas varsity team working on vaccine for HIV

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Thursday, Jun 25, 2009
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Texas varsity team working on vaccine for HIV

Special Correspondent

Research focuses on covalent approach to break the tolerance of the virus

HYDERABAD: A research team of the University of Texas is close to finding a “very good candidate” for developing a vaccine for the Human Immuno Virus (HIV) that causes the Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). “The time has come for translation of basic science to clinic,” said Sudhir Paul, director of the Clinical Immunology Research Centre of the University of Texas.

Professor Paul said their approach was innovative in that the emphasis was on prevention through a region in the virus that is “quite constant” and useful for binding it to the cell. The team focussed on the covalent approach instead of the non-covalent approach on which the existing vaccines are based, to break the tolerance of the virus. The method was adopted to see whether the covalent vaccine, containing chemical extract, not only bound with the cell effectively but also ensured generation of more and more antibodies to prevent the spread of the virus. The approach was necessitated by the rapid mutation of the HIV virus, he said.

“Experiments have shown that we can break the tolerance and induce cells to produce more antibodies that are broadly reactive to diverse strains so that the infection by all strains of the virus could be stopped,” Professor Paul told The Hindu.

The process involved development of abzymes (from antibody and enzyme), which are monoclonal antibodies with catalytic activity for permanently breaking thousands of virus molecules, unlike the regular antibody that could be targeted at a single molecule, he said.

As the experiments have met with success, efforts were on to take the candidate for testing in human beings, preferably on those who were infected and those who were resistant to current drugs. “Development of covalent vaccine is a completely new approach, and the process of developing the vaccine should not take more than a year, provided we have enough money and community support,” he said.

He admitted that there would be a lot of resistance from the scientific establishment, but it was because science looked for proof.

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