Defeat of the Death Star

Possible defeat of the “death star”?

In the HIV realm of the world, there are many known forms of HIV; which, if untreated can transform into AIDS. One of the most difficult forms of HIV is known as the “death star” for its ability to defeat anti-HIV vaccines and their antibodies; thus, becoming untreatable. With such a strong strain of a dangerous virus, it is extremely difficult for researchers and scientists to come up with a solution to combat the death star. However, in mid-2019, a team at Scripps Research in Florida may have found a solution. Michael Farzan and Matthew Gardner decided to focus their research on creating a “safe” virus, also known as AAV’s, to defeat the dangerous one. Most of the research that has been conducted has focused on using immune cells to target immune cells in the body the vaccine is inject to. In this case, the two scientists created a new strain “called eCD4-Ig, which features two HIV co-receptors, CD4 and CCR5. The latter was discovered by Farzan and his team over a decade ago. Farzan's viral vaccine is injected into muscle. It "infects" the muscle cells, which causes them to produce the protective eCD4-Ig. During exposure to HIV, the HIV virus is attracted to eCD4-Ig. It binds, and then "undergoes conformational change prematurely, and it's no longer able to infect," Farzan says.

During this study, the animals involved with the testing did not show any adverse reactions, side effects, or negative immune responses when administered the adeno-associated virus (AAV). Using AAV’s as a gene therapy has fairly recently been approved by the FDA which is large step forward as they have proved to be helpful in combating retinal diseases and spinal muscular atrophy. In this case, not only has the use of AAV’s stopped the spread of the death star, it did it safely with no risk to the subject being monitored. Farzan and Garner’s study shows that these new processes have the potential to save lives and create a protective vaccine against HIV.

- Shayla Bannert

Resources:

Matthew R. Gardner, Christoph H. Fellinger, Lisa M. Kattenhorn, Meredith E. Davis-Gardner, Jesse A. Weber, Barnett Alfant, Amber S. Zhou, Neha R. Prasad, Hema R. Kondur, Wendy A. Newton, Kimberly L. Weisgrau, Eva G. Rakasz, Jeffrey D. Lifson, Guangping Gao, Nancy Schultz-Darken, Michael Farzan. AAV-delivered eCD4-Ig protects rhesus macaques from high-dose SIVmac239 challenges. Science Translational Medicine, 2019; 11 (502): eaau5409 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aau5409

Scripps Research Institute. (2019, July 24). Viral HIV vaccine gives durable protection against 'death star' strain: Toughest strains defeated through gene-therapy inspired approach. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 28, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190724155927.htm