HIV/AIDS Vaccine News Update: Could Llamas Help Humans Find a Vaccine?
Llamas apparently have a strong body inside and out.
Antibodies in the immune system of llamas may be the key to figuring out a vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and a cure for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Researchers at the University College London (UCL) and Scripps Research Institute released a study in December that suggests the antibodies found in the llama fights back against many strains of HIV.
Currently there is no cure for HIV or AIDS. The only treatment available for either disease only treats symptoms and delays the progression.
One llama antibody, which develops in response to the virus, "potently neutralizes more than 95 percent of HIV strains."
These neutralizing antibodies are not found in the human body. The destruction of many HIV strains within the llama is due to the combination of four antibodies.
The researchers say these four antibodies target different parts of the HIV virus. The four working together has the potential to destroy the many HIV strains. The researchers found up to 60 strains were destroyed with the antibodies.
"This shows that immunization can induce potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies in llamas with features similar to human antibodies, and provide a framework to analyze the effectiveness of immunization protocols," said Dr. Laura McCoy, the lead researcher of the study from UCL.
The researchers are quick to note that humans are unable to produce these llama antibodies in their own bodies. However, an option is to inject humans with the llama antibodies. The reaction that can result in injecting humans with llama antibodies is unpredictable. Scientists suggest genetically altering the antibodies in order to influence the way the human cells work in the human body.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV infects 1.2 million people in the country. More than 168,000 people, or 14 percent of the total HIV patients in the U.S., are not aware that they are infected. The disease infects 33 million people globally.
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