Broadly Neutralizing Antibody May Accelerate HIV Cure

Injecting HIV patients with a potent and broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) was found to reduce viral loads and accelerate the clearance of HIV-1 infected cells in vivo during a recent study.

The trial included 15 HIV-positive patients who were administered a single injection of the bNAb 3BNC117. Almost all of the patients saw a reduction in viral loads that lasted for a considerable amount of time, while 14 of the patients administered the bNAb showed increased potency against the virus at 24 weeks, with varying levels of effect.

At 24 weeks, the virus seemed to develop a resistance to 3BNC117, while Immunoglobulin G (IgG) appeared to have a stronger general response to 3BNC117-sensitive and 3BNC117-resistant strains of HIV, 24 weeks after the injection.

A different analysis of 3BNC117 showed that the antibody was able to block the infection of new cells and accelerate the clearance of infected cells.

This accelerated clearance was confirmed during an experiment using mice, as well as in T cells isolated from the patients.

Researchers also discovered that when their Fcy receptor was mutated or blocked, 3BNC117 was ineffective in clearing the infected cells. This suggests that the receptor may be a key mechanism behind the 3BNC117’s clearance of HIV infected cells.

Both of the studies show that 3BNC117 has the potential to be a viable therapeutic target for HIV.