A new vaccine offers remarkable protection against HIV.
- Messenger RNAs (or mRNAs) are molecules responsible for transmitting the information coded in our genome.
- This allows the synthesis of proteins necessary for the functioning of our cells.
Researchers, published in the journal Nature, have just developed a promising vaccine against AIDS. It is based on messenger RNA technology.
Antigenic variability
“Vaccine development remains a top priority to control the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” explain the scientists. “Although more than forty years have passed since the emergence of this disease, no protective serum has yet been developed. A series of major obstacles are responsible for this failure, in particular the remarkable antigenic variability of the envelope of HIV”, they continue.
To try to overcome this difficulty, the team of immunologist Anthony Fauci tested a new anti-HIV formula, first on mice, then on rhesus macaques. All animals received multiple booster doses at follow-up.
A 79% reduction in the risk of infection
By the 58th week of the experiment, all of the monkeys had developed detectable antibody levels. From the 60th week, they were exposed every seven days to the virus via their rectal mucosa. A little after, “Vaccinated animals showed a 79% reduction in risk of infection from exposure to SHIV AD8”, report the researchers, referring to “a promising approach for the development of an HIV vaccine” in humans.
173,000 French people live with HIV, and 36.3 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic in 1981. This virus affects the immune defences, that is to say that it prevents the body from fighting pathologies.
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