BETHESDA, Md., June 18 (UPI) -- Rabbit, monkey and mice cells were stimulated in lab tests in three studies to produce antibodies that prevent the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, from infecting human cells, or that have potential to evolve into antibodies that can prevent infection.
The three studies seeking a potential HIV vaccine were funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.
"The results are pretty spectacular," said Dennis Burton, chair of the department of immunology and microbial science a The Scripps Research Institute, which was involved with two studies using mouse models, in a press release. The two studies successfully tested a protein nanoparticle on two different mouse models that binds to and activates cells needed to prevent HIV infection.
The studies are published in Cell and Science.
The third study, led by Weill Medical College of Cornell University and published in Science, tested a lab-designed molecular complex similar to the part of HIV that binds to cells in rabbit and monkey models. The complex induced the animals' cells to produce antibodies that prevented a "tough-to-neutralize" HIV strain.
