Scientists from the Wistar Institute have developed an HIV vaccine candidate that demonstrates a result not previously observed: the formation of neutralizing antibodies against HIV after a single immunization in primates, reports Medical Xpress, writes UNN.
The innovative approach, published in Nature Immunology, is reported to significantly shorten and simplify HIV vaccination protocols, making them more accessible worldwide.
Bold New Vaccination Strategy
The study, led by Amelia Escolano, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Wistar Institute's Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center and senior author of the study, focuses on a synthetically engineered HIV envelope protein, WIN332, which challenges scientific notions of how to develop an effective HIV vaccine, the publication writes.
"Going against one common belief in the field, we achieved low neutralization after a single immunization, which further increased after an additional booster dose, something never before observed," Escolano said.
"Typically, HIV vaccination protocols require seven, eight, or even ten injections to start seeing neutralization. For our immunogen WIN332, we administered it only once and already saw some neutralization," she noted.
Impact on the V3-glycan region
For many years, scientists trying to develop HIV vaccines have focused on targeting the virus's envelope protein, a component of the virus's outer layer. Dr. Escolano's team developed a specific region of the envelope protein called the V3-glycan epitope.
Antibodies targeting this region were thought to require a specific sugar, N332-glycan, for effective binding. All previous envelope immunogens were designed to retain this sugar. Escolano's team took the unprecedented step of completely removing the N332-glycan to create WIN332.
"A single injection of WIN332 induced low but noticeable neutralization against HIV within just three weeks – an unprecedented timeframe. When researchers administered a second injection using a related immunogen, neutralization levels significantly increased. This potentially represents a significant improvement over current experimental protocols," the publication states.
"This immunogen can shorten and simplify vaccination protocols," said Ignacio Relano-Rodriguez, PhD, first author of the study. "If this approach proves successful, we could potentially achieve the desired immunity in just three injections. This would make vaccination protocols shorter and more accessible."
Next Steps Towards Human Clinical Trials
The encouraging results have attracted the attention of leading health organizations, which intend to move towards human clinical trials of WIN332. Meanwhile, additional preclinical studies are underway, as well as the development of further immunogens that can be used in a shortened vaccination series to further enhance neutralization efficacy, the publication writes.
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