A research by a group of American scientists showed that cows have an insane and mind-blowing ability to tackle HIV which will assist in developing vaccine, the study said. A new study supported by the National Institutes of Health made a big step towards developing what could be a viable HIV vaccine, after an experiment with cows, the BBC News reports.
A new study shows that the quick immune system of cows could hold an important key to creating an HIV vaccine for humans. The researchers found that unlike humans, cows have the ability to create HIV neutralizing antibodies on their own faster than humans can. Scientists aim to develop a vaccine that is not only potent (produces a strong immune system response), but also causes the immune system to make "broadly neutralising antibodies" (able to protect against many different strains of virus).
The four cows in this study were immunised against HIV with a specially developed vaccine to test both strength and "breadth". Some cows developed a weak response with reasonable breadth (20% – or it helped protect against 1 in 5 strains tested in the lab) at 42 days. One cow in particular showed an impressive immune response to most of the lab strains of HIV ("96% breadth") 381 days after being vaccinated.
Humans with HIV, on the other hand, develop BNAbs around two years after infection, and only 10-20% do so. In addition, one of the cows was able to neutralize some 20% of the HIV strain in just 42 days, while another cow was able to neutralize a surprising 96% of the strain in 381 days.
The researchers isolated the antibodies the calves had developed, and found that they contained a potent antibody that binds to an area the HIV virus uses to infect healthy cells. Also, these antibodies that longer loops of HCDR3 that develop faster.
Longer HCDR3 regions are able to pierce through the molecules on the surface of HIV, reaching the furthest areas and eventually neutralizing the virus. In people these longer HCDR3 regions have only been observed in those who have lived with HIV for a long time.
But while the study shows promise, there are still many challenges to overcome until an effective HIV vaccine can be created.
Cows are greatly different from humans, and HIV is a human virus, so it’s difficult to predict how the results might happen when applied to a human’s immune system. The study was published in the peer reviewed medical journal Nature.
While we all hope an HIV vaccine or cure may be on the horizon, until that time, using a condom during penetrative, oral and anal sex is the most effective method of preventing infection with HIV.
