Study: Single Antibody Shot Can Be An Efficient Defense Agaist HIV-Like Virus

HIV remains to be one of the most challenging diseases at the time. The good news, there is a growing progress in finding a solution to this dreaded virus. A new study suggests that a single shot of antibodies can prevent monkeys from HIV-like infections up to 23 weeks.

Antibodies For HIV-Like Virus Prevention

According to Nature, a single shot of infusion protects monkeys from HIV-like virus for almost six months. The new study is an addition to the growing evidence that antibodies can potentially help one from being infected with HIV.

Antibodies are specialized proteins that the body produces to prevent and fight infections. Antibodies are doing well in research and one day, this could be used in protecting people from HIV infection.

"A caveat is that monkeys are not humans, but the model the authors use is about as good as it gets, and the results are a boost to HIV vaccine research and the use of passive antibodies as long-acting preventives," said Dennis Burton, who is not involved with the study.

Study Details

According to EurekAlert, previous researchers learned that infusion of antibodies to monkeys could prevent infection a few days prior to a high dose of the virus. However, humans are typically exposed to low doses of virus before they are infected.

The new study exposed macaques to weekly low doses of simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) that has the same component as HIV. It took three weeks before the virus becomes detectable.

Antibodies Long-Term Protection

To check the antibodies longevity in protecting the monkeys from SHIV, they gave single infusion shots of one of three individual antibodies against HIV, known as VRC01, 3BNC117 and 10-1074 to the three groups of six macaques. They then exposed the animals to low doses of SHIV. They learned that antibodies infusion delayed SHIV infection up to 23 weeks. As for the longevity of protection, this depends on the antibody's potency and half-life, a measure of the antibody's lifespan in the blood and tissues.

The new study was published in Nature.