Alpaca, the solution against AIDS? — NORTHERN NEWS

A team of researchers in China has succeeded in isolating an antibody from alpaca cells that can effectively block the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), thereby providing provided a promising avenue for the development of new drugs against AIDS (acquired human immunodeficiency syndrome).

Antiretroviral therapy is currently the main clinical method used to prevent the spread of HIV in the body, said Wu Zhiwei, a professor at Nanjing University School of Medicine.
Although this treatment extends the life expectancy of patients, it can also lead to significant resistance of the virus to drugs. This is why there is an urgent need to investigate new treatments, explained Professor Wu Zhiwei, co-author of the new study.

Alpacas and llamas have “more flexible” antibodies than humans

The main approach used in the clinical development of new anti-AIDS drugs focuses on the process by which the virus enters host cells. In this process, a receptor called CD4 acts as a “handle”, which the virus uses to open the “door” (membrane – ed.) and enter the cells.

Animals in the camel family, which includes llamas and alpacas, have much smaller and more flexible antibodies than humans, which recognize and neutralize HIV infections more effectively.
The Chinese team removed thousands of CD4 nanobodies (a smaller and more stable type of antibody) from alpaca cells, and one of them, Nb457, was shown to have the ability to inhibit HIV.
The Chinese researchers created a series of fake viruses to mimic 117 strains of HIV, and then interacted with Nb457.

What the researchers found

The results showed that Nb457 effectively inhibits 116 viral strains, showing good antiviral activity and a wide range of activity, informs Agerpres.
In experiments with a real virus, the trimeric nanoparticles obtained from Nb457 showed strong inhibition of HIV, said Wu Xilin, a researcher at Nanjing University School of Medicine, co-author of the other study.
The results of the mouse tests also showed that the virus was almost invisible in the bodies of the treated mice, and no drug resistance mutations were found, Professor Wu said.

Alpaca antibody may lead to new treatments

HIV undergoes rapid mutations and is likely to develop drug resistance, leading to a reduction in the effectiveness of the drugs, he said.
The new antibody discovered by the Chinese team does not target the virus itself, but the “treatment” of CD4, making it less likely to induce drug resistance, and having a major impact on the development of new anti-drugs. AIDS and for clinical treatment. explained the same Chinese researcher.
The study was recently published in the international journal Nature Communications.

READ IN: Ragweed allergy will affect 40% of Europeans in the future