A new report from the University of Georgia has outlined promising research into developing HIV treatments but it involves an unexpected focus – Llamas.
One of the big scientific challenges in tackling HIV is that tiny stands of the virus can remain dormant for long periods of time and avoid human antibodies.
The research team at Georgia State University has developed tiny, potent molecules that are capable of targeting these hidden strains of HIV. They made their breakthrough by studying the DNA of llamas.
The study, conducted by Assistant Professor of Biology Jianliang Xu, employs nanobodies derived from llamas to effectively neutralize a wide range of HIV-1 strains. This team’s recent research has been documented in the journal Advanced Science.
“This virus has evolved a way to escape our immune system. Conventional antibodies are bulky, so it’s difficult for them to find and attack the virus’ surface,” Xu explained. “These new antibodies can do this in an easier way.”
Scientists have been looking into the gene structure of animals within the camelid family for around 15 years.
The llamas antibodies work because they are much smaller and nimbler than human antibodies.
For the study, researchers immunized llamas with a specially designed protein which results in the production of neutralizing nanobodies. Xu and his team then identified nanobodies that can target vulnerable sites on the virus.
When the team engineered the nanobodies into a triple tandem format — by repeating short lengths of DNA — the resulting nanobodies demonstrated remarkable effectiveness, neutralizing 96 percent of a diverse panel of HIV-1 strains.
“Instead of developing a cocktail of antibodies, now we can make a single molecule that can neutralize HIV,” Xu said.
“We are working with a broadly neutralizing nanobody that can neutralize over 90 percent of the circulating HIV strains, and when we combine that with another bNAb which also neutralizes some 90 percent, together, they can neutralize close to 100 percent.”
This week will see an influx of research announcements and discussions as AIDS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference, takes place in Munich, Germany, and virtually from 22 to 26 July 2024.
