When scientists defeat HIV April. The vaccine has been created. Soon people will be treated for HIV. How the human immunodeficiency virus was discovered

American molecular biologists have discovered a new antibody that can neutralize 96 percent of HIV strains and most of its versions, which were previously considered the most invulnerable. This gives the world community hope that a universal vaccine will soon be developed against the virus.

Will geneticists be able to defeat HIV and cancer?

The new antibodies, called N6, prevent viral particles from attaching to immune cells. They focus on those parts of the shell of these particles that are similar from strain to strain, which allows them to counteract so many of them.

When a microbe or virus enters our body, special immune cells are activated. They are called B lymphocytes. These cells capture pathogen particles. And then they select a special protein molecule-antibody, which attaches to the surface of the virus bacterium and, as it were, marks it.

However, such antibodies are ineffective in the fight against HIV, since most of them are able to recognize only one type of bacteria or virus. In the case of the shell structure is constantly changing. Therefore, B cells only rarely manage to create universal antibodies.

Behind last years Scientists have made great progress on this issue. Biologists have been able to isolate several similar antibodies from the blood of patients infected with HIV. Some of them even suppress most strains of the virus, but do not completely get rid of the infection due to the huge variety of subtypes of HIV. Some viruses still survive.

A new antibody - N6 - was able to detect a weak point in the protein shell of the immunodeficiency virus. The discovery belongs to a team from the National Institute of Allergy and infectious diseases USA in Bethesda under the leadership of Mark Connors, RIA Novosti reports.

The antibody was found in the blood of a patient whose the immune system fought the infection quite successfully. The man lived with HIV for more than 20 years and had normal immunity, even though he had not taken antiretroviral drugs for a very long time.

By the way, Pravda.Ru previously reported about the first person who. This happened in Britain.

A similar discovery was already made 6 years ago. In 2010, scientists discovered the VRC01 antibody, which works against 90% of HIV strains. However, the new antibody copes better, “clinging” to the virus at another point in the protein, which hardly changes when it mutates. It also manages to avoid contact with the sugar molecules on the HIV shell, whose constantly changing structure protects the virus from attacks by the immune system.

There is still work to be done to improve the performance of the new antibody. It has a rather unusual structure and allows the introduction of new mutations. N6 will be tested together with the previously opened VRC01. Scientists think that use can prolong the life of HIV carriers.

the site wrote that scientists are closer to the search. In 2013, they announced that they had outsmarted the human immunodeficiency virus. Biologists were able to obtain a substance that, when added to an infected cell, blocked HIV’s attempts to contact the necessary proteins, but, on the other hand, did not inhibit the activity of these proteins themselves. Therefore, the built-in human interferon signaling worked. Lymphocytes quickly recognized the infected cell and destroyed it even before the virus had time to multiply.

The Lancet published the results of preliminary clinical trials of a new HIV vaccine. The study involved 393 people from five countries and 72 macaques. The researchers found a robust immune response in each of the subjects. The results were so impressive that representatives of the Johnson & Johnson company had reason to talk about a complete and unconditional victory over HIV in the near future. “360” understood the features of the “holy grail” of pharmacology.

HIV-uninfected volunteers were collected from 12 clinics in the United States, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa and Thailand. They were divided into eight groups. Seven groups received various combinations of drugs according to the “prime-boost” regimen, and the eighth, control, took a placebo - a weak salt solution. “Prime boost” means multiple vaccinations using two or more drugs.

All vaccination regimens turned out to be safe, only five subjects reported side effects in the form of general malaise, dizziness, abdominal or back pain. Researchers observed the formation of HIV-specific antibodies in 100 percent of participants who received the vaccine.

There are approximately 37 million people around the world living with HIV or AIDS. There are about 1.8 million new cases every year

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

In parallel with the tests on humans, tests were carried out on a group of 72 monkeys, which were also subjected to different modes vaccination with the same drugs. According to the results of the experiment, two thirds of the monkeys developed immunity to the animal analogue of HIV.

The laboratory name of the vaccine is Ad26.Mos.HIV. The abbreviation Ad stands for adenoviruses. The newest vaccination technique using adenoviruses is based on delivering into cells only the genes that create antibodies. In this case, scientists can encode several genes in one vaccine, which will produce different antibodies accordingly. This technology makes it possible to completely exclude viruses or bacteria from the vaccine, which, albeit in a weakened form, are used in traditional preparations. At the moment there are more early stages There are at least 15 different HIV vaccines in clinical trials, based on different types of adenovirus.

Scientists have been working on creating a vaccine for more than thirty years. HIV has some biological characteristics, which significantly complicate its development. The virus changes incredibly quickly and diversely under the influence of unfavorable factors. It is believed that no two HIV infections are identical. The virus is able to hide in certain types of cells.

It is impossible to create a traditional vaccine based on a weakened or dead virus: dead HIV does not provoke an immune response, and even a small amount of live virus is extremely dangerous. HIV does not infect animals, there are analogs that infect non-human primates, but they are not found in humans, so it is impossible to fully transfer the results of animal experiments to humans. This is why the development of vaccines based on adenoviruses seems so promising: they do not use the virus itself, and the drug material makes it possible to create “matrices” for several types of antibodies.

“The results are encouraging, but it is too early to draw concrete conclusions. At week 52 of the study, we observed a robust and comparable immune response to the vaccine in both humans and primates,” Dan Baruk, a professor at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the study, said in the final part of the published work.

“The genetic diversity of the immunodeficiency virus greatly complicates our work, but we are committed to creating a 'global vaccine' that is effective against the full range of strains of the virus. Our goal is to develop a vaccine that will end HIV once and for all,” said Johnson & Johnson Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels. 6

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The HIV community is excited about the prospect of antiretroviral drugs long acting, which can completely change our understanding of HIV prevention and treatment. But at the same time, very much hung in the air. important question: What will be the real consequences of the appearance of effective long-acting drugs on the market? Will they really help us defeat HIV?

To get to the bottom of these questions, correspondent Terry Wilder interviewed Dr. medical sciences, Anton Poznyak, director of HIV services at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

Terry Wilder: It is no secret that many are now discussing what the next step in the development of antiretroviral drugs will be. If we talk about injectable HIV drugs for people with HIV, what do you think will be the most interesting and promising in the near future?

Anton Poznyak: Well, the development of cabotegravir and rilpivirine injections is at a fairly advanced stage. Most likely, they will need to be entered monthly. And I think that for people who are tired of taking pills all the time, who can't take them, or who are having trouble with it serious problems, this would be a great alternative.

One advantage of long-acting antiretroviral drugs is that the tablets do not need to be kept at home. There is no need to worry whether you will be able to take the drug on time or not. You just need to come to see a doctor. For a certain group of people this will be a big relief.

Injections also have their disadvantages. Let's start with the fact that an injection in the buttock is painful. Some people take this calmly. We do a lot of injections for syphilis and other things, so people understand what an injection is. But during the trial, there were several people involved in the cabotegravir and rilpivirine experiment who discontinued their participation in the study because of this. Patients should be warned that the injection may cause a skin reaction or bump, but this will go away quickly. So this option is not suitable for everyone.

I think many people will say: “I’d rather take a pill once a day.” But for a certain group of people, injections will be much preferable.

THAT: What are the main institutions studying this issue?

AP: Initially, the tests were carried out by ViiV together with Janssen. Then they went international. Research was carried out various groups scientists from [the USA], Europe, Africa, etc. It is difficult to name any one center.

THAT: You, among other things, talked about resistance. Should we worry about resistance when we're talking about long-acting injections?

AP: If we are talking about treatment, then yes. Firstly, if a person has a wild virus, and the viral load becomes undetectable - because first you need to take pills in case of an allergy to injections - then if the treatment goes well and the viral load becomes undetectable, the person proceeds to injections. If a person does not visit the doctor regularly and does not receive injections, the concentration of the drug decreases over time. And once it decreases, virus evasion can occur with the subsequent development of drug resistance of this virus.

We observed such cases during trials: in some patients, drug resistance developed in precisely this scenario. Therefore, of course, we must not forget about the possibility of developing resistance. But clinical studies have been done on small groups, so of course we need large-scale studies. Doctors always say this: let's do larger trials to get more data.

So yes, such a problem exists. When a person decides to switch to injections, there are two things to keep in mind. First, you need to visit your doctor regularly. Many people told me: “Isn’t it great? Now people who have problems with adherence can simply get shots.” But I think it’s not so simple, because these are the people who may well not show up for an appointment with a doctor, where they should receive another injection.

Secondly, patients will most likely need to keep a supply of pills at home in case they can't get to the hospital on time and need to wait a couple of weeks if something unexpected happens or they just go on vacation and the medicine They will not be able to take it with them for injection. We need to be flexible in this matter. Let’s say someone says: “I’ve had enough. I’ll take the pills again,” and a year later: “So, can I go back to the injections?” I think this flexibility will benefit everyone.

THAT: At AIDS 2018 in Amsterdam, people communicate at the most different topics. For example, an entire meeting before the start of the Conference was devoted to the topic of U=U ( « » ), and in general this information was greeted with great enthusiasm throughout the world. Not only does this principle help combat stigma, it is also something that healthcare providers need to keep in mind. So, as we think about the future of long-acting injectables, how will they impact things like treatment as prevention?

AP: Using injectable drugs as PrEP is worthwhile idea, so worthwhile that it is already being implemented. Cabotegravir has already been tested as PrEP in the United States. In fact, they set up several studies around the world. But anyway, beyond that, the great thing is that if you have one of these drug syringes or some other device that can last for weeks or months, then you will be protected for that entire time . So even now, when it is possible to take PrEP “as appropriate” - if I'm not mistaken, this is possible with Truvada [emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate], which is a great innovation - if you suddenly realize that you are about to have sex, and you have I don’t have a pill with me, but I have a drug for injection, then everything is fine, understand? You will be protected.

So I think someone would be happy to take one pill every day as PrEP. Someone will take a pill “according to circumstances.” On the other hand, many will say: “Yes. Great. I will come in for an appointment every 4-6 weeks and they will give me an injection. And during the entire period of sexual activity I will be fine.” Or if they are going to go somewhere, where they will have sex for several days in a row, and do not want to take pills - or they can take them. And there are many people who practice chemsex or take other substances during such parties, which means they may forget to take their pills. So injections can provide them with additional safety.

THAT: Doctors constantly tell and remind their patients that PrEP reaches the cellular level and will only begin to work through certain time. Obviously, this question is fully appropriate for injectable PrEP drugs.

AP: As I already said, we simply must study the preparatory period in advance. Perhaps everything will be like during the studies - a person simply takes pills for several days, and then switches to injections, because the concentration of the drug in the blood has reached the desired level.

THAT: And I’m talking about the kind of client who, as we discussed earlier, is looking for easy ways. Like: “I’m going to the sea and will have sex there.” We need to make it clear to them that we have no idea what the data will be, but it is extremely unlikely - maybe, maybe not - that you just get a shot on Friday and then get on a plane or train on Saturday.

AP: And in men and women, the processes can occur differently, as with oral PrEP. I am convinced that we must explore all these things. But, as with many other issues related to HIV, we are excellent at solving these types of problems.

The other issue, as I mentioned in my speech, is that community involvement, in terms of how it fits into the bigger picture, cannot be overstated. Because it can’t be that the doctor says, “Well, we have this cool thing, this is how you take it, and this is how it works,” and then someone from the community says, “Well, yeah, but in reality, everything happens like this.” And how do we deal with this problem?

And like you said, we need to know how quickly the reaction will happen rather than just having the doctor say, “Well, this is excellent protection for a few weeks." Perhaps - imagine that you need to wait five days until the concentration reaches the desired level. Then people need to be told: “You know, first you need to take pills.”

THAT: Exactly. I'm glad you brought this up. [In your speech] you said: “We need activists who would demand development in this direction.”

AP: I said that because, firstly, it’s possible - I don’t think it’s right, but it’s possible - it will be quite expensive at first. And people should demand that the cost not be high if we see real benefits. There are a lot of “ifs”. But if this is a truly worthwhile method of PrEP for a population that needs it, they need to say, “We want to use this method. Make it accessible!”

Well, I mean, look at how many problems there have been with oral PrEP in many countries - even in my home country, the United Kingdom, where we did one of the main studies, the PROUD study.

At the same time, the government wanted an implementation project. And we have one of the best systems of sexually transmitted disease clinics in the world, right? Therefore, I am firmly convinced that with the help of medical dispensaries we could implement it even tomorrow.

If injectable PrEP appears and shows high efficiency, then we need to make sure people can use it. We must remove all obstacles. Of course, cost is always a major barrier, but it doesn't have to be exorbitant. And we need people to be able to access it where it is.

THAT: Many activists believe that PrEP in pill form is not accessible method for all people, that it is too expensive and therefore prevents us from ending the HIV epidemic around the world. Last week, an article in the New York Times highlighted some of this point of view.

AP: For me, the question is this: without prevention, regardless of the method - circumcision, PrEP in the form of pills, PrEP in the form of injections - without it it is impossible to end the epidemic. Therefore, we simply need to take decisive preventive measures. And everything is heading towards linking prevention to “treatment as prevention.” And there is a reasonable grain in this.

Therefore, this method needs to be accessible. But this depends on many different factors. First, health systems will say we can't afford it: well, we need to be able to afford it. Generic drug companies can make very cheap and available drugs. In all countries where HIV pills are available, people should be able to get PrEP in the same way.

Second, there are countries where HIV and AIDS stigma is such that getting PrEP into those countries is challenging. Because if they see you have pills, they will label you as a person of a certain orientation, a sex worker, and so on. And in some countries this is punishable by law. Therefore, people are forced to hide.

But there is also good news regarding PrEP in my own region, in Europe, in many countries. During the Conference here in Amsterdam, the Netherlands should announce that PrEP will be available in the country. I think, as usual, when the house of cards begins to collapse, at least in some regions, the process will then proceed like an avalanche, capturing more and more countries. Well, this is logical!
For myself big problem the cost of the drugs remains. Here interesting fact: For example, the cost of Truvada for PrEP differs in France and in Belgium, despite the fact that these countries are adjacent to each other. You cross the border and see a completely different price. There should be no inequality in the cost of medicines.

THAT: You gave a presentation as part of the “90−90−90 Goals” seminar. Someone asked: “Do you think it will start soon? mass use injectable drugs for people with HIV and as prevention?” Will we see this process in the context of achieving the 90−90−90 goals [by 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV know their status; 90% of people diagnosed with HIV receive treatment; Do 90% of people on treatment achieve an undetectable viral load]?

AP: No. I think by 2020 we're just going to get more data, especially in terms of treatment. But of course, after receiving the research reports, there will be a lot of work on practical implementation. That's why I said that many studies will likely only end in the 2020s. I think all preparatory process will end by the mid-20s. If we talk about goals 95−95−95, then this is 2030; I think by then we will be ready for such tasks. But it is hardly worth talking about significant changes before 2020.

THAT: So you want to say - follow the news.

AP: Follow the news. Oral PrEP is available. There is circumcision. There are other methods of HIV prevention; a lot of research is being done. In some cities it is especially successful, such as New York. So, of course: stay tuned. I think that in 10 years our world will change beyond recognition. I hope so.

It has long been notorious throughout the world. It achieved this effect due to its systemic effect on the body, total suppression of the immune system and the development of severe concomitant pathologies. In addition, this disease is also known because it has not yet been created effective drug from this disease. Many people are interested in the question: when will HIV be defeated?

Thanks to this, many leading scientific institutions Around the world, research is underway to create the most effective drug against the HIV virus. How 2016 may go down in history as a turning point in medicine, when scientists defeat HIV. In many scientific journals The first information began to appear that scientists had defeated HIV. Is it true?

Research Trends

How to defeat HIV infection? The best minds on the planet have been struggling with this issue for many decades. A huge number of different approaches have been created that, in laboratory conditions, give a positive answer to the question: is it possible to defeat HIV, because in theory, if you look at it, it is enough to simply prevent the virus from entering the body and suppress its activity. In practice, it is quite difficult to answer such a question, since everything laboratory research are held in ideal conditions, which cannot be created in the human body.

Due to the complexity of research and its inaccessibility to most people on the Internet, you can often come across the following request: how to defeat HIV infection folk remedies? Unfortunately, the answer to this question- no way, because this disease causes significant disruption of the body’s functioning, and without the help of science, as well as medicines It is extremely difficult to prevent its development.

How to defeat the HIV virus? Currently, the most promising are three areas of treatment, each of which may turn out to be correct and most effective. If they prove their effectiveness, then 2016 will be the year we defeated HIV.

German developments

Quite often you can find news on the Internet that victory over HIV infection is already close, and this is possible thanks to the work of scientists at the University of Hamburg. Is it true that German scientists managed to defeat HIV? It was on the basis of their research that the drug Brec1 was created, which makes it possible to achieve significant success in the treatment of AIDS and prevent the multiplication of the virus in the body. German scientists managed to defeat the human immunodeficiency virus with the help of this medicine.

As laboratory studies have shown, this drug shows activity specifically against retroviruses. The study was conducted on rats. The effect of the virus on the rodent body has been proven. After administering the test drug and subsequently undergoing a full examination, not a single viral particle was detected in the infected animals, which undoubtedly indicates a complete cure.

In the near future, studies will be conducted on volunteers and only then will it be known whose victory is HIV or science. Many scientists are confident that the drug will work in humans, and if there is at least one positive result, then German scientists have defeated HIV.

American Institute of Immunology Research

According to scientific developments American scientists, the prospects for a complete victory over HIV lie in the influence on the metabolic processes of cells.

An extremely important nutrient necessary for the nutrition and existence of most cells is glucose. The virus uses it to build its own RNA components (since carbohydrate is a structural component of amino acids). By preventing it from entering a cell affected by the virus, the virus cannot continue its replication and, accordingly, suppress the immune system.

The necessary studies were carried out and the following results were obtained: by blocking the PLD1 gene, it was possible to almost completely block the access of glucose to the cells. At the same time, the activity of the virus decreased by almost 80%. However, it is currently unknown how to safely block glucose from reaching specific cells. It is because of this difficulty that the necessary drug has not yet been obtained that will allow one to forget about immunodeficiency forever.

Thanks to this, the prospects for a complete victory over HIV in 2016 lie in interrupting the cellular nutrition of virus-infected cells. If scientists succeed, then many patients suffering from AIDS and related diseases will be able to forget about this disease forever and “take a deep breath.”

If these human studies are successful, then HIV will be defeated in 2016 - this is what many famous scientists believe.

Scripps Institute Research

Victory over HIV in 2016 can be achieved thanks to the efforts of scientists from the American Scripps Institute. According to researchers, the main emphasis should be on stimulating the production of antibodies formed during immunization with immunodeficiency virus antigens. These antibodies are code-named VRC1. According to researchers, it is these antibodies that can suppress the activity of the retrovirus, but they take a long time to form (in addition, they can only be synthesized if there is contact between the antigen and certain germ cells), and most often the body of an infected person goes into the stage of immunodeficiency.

A quick victory over HIV is approaching, and these antibodies can become the main weapon against the virus. The main difficulty is to create a specific immunogen that can induce the formation of the necessary antibodies and allow them to enter into the necessary immune reaction.

The problem with research lies in the fact that conducting it requires a lot of both financial and intellectual resources. If world economy will be able to support this research, then HIV will soon be defeated, and 2016 will be called the year of victory over the most dangerous infection of the millennium.