Scientists confirm that the combination of vaccines is key to achieving immune responses against HIV – Page/12

A team of scientists demonstrated that the combination of vaccines and the period of their administration are decisive in achieving immune responses against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The study was led by Dr. Beatriz Perdiguero and virologist Mariano Esteban, both members of the National Center for Biotechnology of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) of Spain, who managed to find a beneficial early and memory response to the virus that causes AIDS. The specialists studied the combination of vaccines and the different times of administration in a group of monkeys to evaluate an improvement in the effectiveness of the response against HIV. The result of the analysis was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology and financed by the Gates Foundation. “In this international, European and American project, we have characterized in monkeys the effect of combining three types of vaccines: one based on nucleic acid (DNA) , another in a non-replicative poxvirus vector in human cells (NYVAC) and a third in the Env protein of the HIV envelope together with adjuvant”, Esteban detailed in a note released by the CSIC. In addition, he specified that the study tested different combinations of the three types of vaccines and also verified the effect that re-immunization at 36 and 48 weeks could have on the improvement in the immune response due to late booster doses. To control the effect of the virus on the The body requires a “powerful sustained over time” immune response, explained the virologist. This is achieved with the generation of neutralizing antibodies with a broad spectrum of action, and the activation of specific memory “B and T lymphocytes” against the virus. “Due to the importance of HIV infection and the disease it causes, it is essential develop an effective vaccine against this pathogen, which causes some 700,000 deaths annually, “added the text. In principle, the researchers are looking for immune markers that may be essential to achieve control of HIV infection. From there, it is concluded that the use of the Env protein as the first dose of vaccination administered together with DNA or with the NYVAC vector represents an “optimized” protocol for immunization against HIV. According to Esteban, these works also give details about continuous administration of vaccines and confirms that it does not exponentially increase the immune response induced beyond the fourth dose, which may be applicable to the effect that increasing doses may have against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Tests in humans an HIV vaccineThe first doses of an AIDS vaccine using messenger RNA technology were administered to humans in February 2022, the company Moderna announced. The phase 1 trial is carried out in the United States, in 56 healthy adults without HIV. The objective of the vaccine that is in the testing phase is to stimulate the production of a certain type of antibodies (bnAb), capable of acting against the numerous circulating variants of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The vaccine aims to educate the B cells, which are part of our immune system, to produce these antibodies. For this, the trial will test the injection of an initial immunogen, that is, a substance capable of provoking an immune response, and a booster immunogen injected later. David Diemert, chief scientist of the trial explained that “other immunogens will be necessary to guide the immune system on the right track, but this combination of a booster and an enhancer could be the first key component of a potential HIV vaccine regimen.” The immunogens used were developed by the scientific research organization International HIV Vaccine Initiative. AIDS (IAVI) and the Scripps Research Institute, with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIAD) of the United States, and Moderna. Last year, a first trial, in which did not use messenger RNA, but tested the first immunogen, showed that the desired immune response was obtained in several dozen of participants. The next step was to collaborate with Moderna. “Given the speed with which messenger RNA vaccines can be produced, this platform offers a more flexible and responsive approach to testing and designing a vaccine,” the experts noted.