5th International Conference on Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The next series of the "2nd International Conference on Sexually transmitted Diseases" , "5th International Conference on Sexually Transmitted Diseases" slated on July 17-18, 2019 at London, UK warmly invites you all to present your respective research paper at our conference.

Abstract submission : https://std-hiv-aids.cmesociety.com/abstract-submission
Registration : https://std-hiv-aids.cmesociety.com/registration
Next series blogger info : std2019.blogger.com

Study shows how HIV is shielded from Immune Attack

Scientists from UNSW Sydney and the UK have discovered that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) hijacks a small molecule from the host cell to protect itself from being destroyed by the host's immune system.

The finding, as well as details of the new strategy that enabled it, are published as back-to-back papers in eLife. They identify a new target for antiviral therapy against HIV and provide a method for testing and measuring new drugs designed to target the capsid.

UNSW Ph.D. student Chantal Márquez is involved in both studies and is the first author of the paper describing the new method.

HIV forms a protein shell—called a capsid—that shields its genetic material from host defence mechanisms as it enters the cell and makes its way to the nucleus to establish infection.

Using a new single-molecule microscopy technique—developed at UNSW's Single Molecule Science in the Faculty of Medicine—the research teams found that HIV specifically incorporates a small molecule from the host cell—inositol hexakisphosphate—to strengthen its capsid. The host inadvertently provides the key for the virus infecting it to lock down the protective shell, keeping the genetic cargo safe until it is released into the nucleus.

"The HIV capsid falls apart within minutes once it's isolated from the virus," said Associate Professor Till Böcking, who led the UNSW team involved in both studies.

"Our strategy lets us study exactly how a native capsid breaks apart in real-time without taking it out of the viral membrane."

With the help of Associate Professor Stuart Turville of the Kirby Institute, the team engineered viruses with fluorescent tags to monitor the viral capsid using fluorescence microscopy.

"We can now see the effect of different molecules on the capsid, and pinpoint precisely when it cracks open and begins to collapse," says Associate Professor Böcking.

"Capsids need to be much more stable inside a cell because the infection process takes hours, not minutes—so we wanted to find out what keeps it stable inside a cell," says Dr. David Jacques of Single Molecule Science, who is an author of both studies.

The researchers found that inositol hexakisphosphate, which is abundantly present inside mammalian cells, makes the capsid much stronger, stabilizing it for 10-20 hours.

"It's like a switch. When you bind this molecule, you stabilize the capsid, and release the molecule to open it up," explains Associate Professor Böcking.

"The HIV capsid has been intensively studied, but the question of how it can simultaneously be both stable and poised to 'uncoat' has been one of the great unanswered questions in HIV biology," says Dr. Leo James, leader of the research team at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK.

Most of the currently approved HIV therapies target enzymes needed at different stages of the virus' life cycle, but none of them are directed at the HIV capsid. New drug alternatives could improve the treatment of HIV with reduced toxic effects.

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-hiv-shielded-immune.html

Abstract Submission: https:/std-hiv-aids.cmesociety.com/abstract-submission

Registration: https://std-hiv-aids.cmesociety.com/registration

New antibody attacks 99% of HIV strains

Scientists have engineered an antibody that attacks 99% of HIV strains and can prevent infection in primates.

 It is built to attack three critical parts of the virus - making it harder for HIV to resist its effects.

The work is a collaboration between the US National Institutes of Health and the pharmaceutical company Sanofi.

The International Aids Society said it was an "exciting breakthrough". Human trials will start in 2018 to see if it can prevent or treat infection.

Our bodies struggle to fight HIV because of the virus' incredible ability to mutate and change its appearance.

These varieties of HIV - or strains - in a single patient are comparable to those of influenza during a worldwide flu season.

So, the immune system finds itself in a fight against an insurmountable number of strains of HIV.

Super-antibodies

But after years of infection, a small number of patients develop powerful weapons called "broadly neutralising antibodies" that attack something fundamental to HIV and can kill large swathes of HIV strains.

Researchers have been trying to use broadly neutralising antibodies as a way to treat HIV or prevent infection in the first place.

The study, published in the journal Science, combines three such antibodies into an even more powerful "tri-specific antibody".

Dr Gary Nabel, the chief scientific officer at Sanofi and one of the report authors, told the BBC News website: "They are more potent and have greater breadth than any single naturally occurring antibody that's been discovered."

The best naturally occurring antibodies will target 90% of HIV strains.

"We're getting 99% coverage, and getting coverage at very low concentrations of the antibody," said Dr Nabel.

Experiments on 24 monkeys showed none of those given the tri-specific antibody developed an infection when they were later injected with the virus.

Dr Nabel said: "It was quite an impressive degree of protection."

The work included scientists at Harvard Medical School, The Scripps Research Institute, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

'Exciting'

Clinical trials to test the antibody in people will start next year.

Prof Linda-Gail Bekker, the president of the International Aids Society, told the BBC: "This paper reports an exciting breakthrough.

"These super-engineered antibodies seem to go beyond the natural and could have more applications than we have imagined to date.

"It's early days yet, and as a scientist I look forward to seeing the first trials get off the ground in 2018.

"As a doctor in Africa, I feel the urgency to confirm these findings in humans as soon as possible."

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it was an intriguing approach.

He added: "Combinations of antibodies that each bind to a distinct site on HIV may best overcome the defences of the virus in the effort to achieve effective antibody-based treatment and prevention."

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-41351159

Submit your abstracts here: https:/std-hiv-aids.cmesociety.com/abstract-submission to join and share your work at STD 2018 conference held at Toronto, Canada on December 03-043, 2018. Earn CME hours by attending the conference. To register follow this link: https://std-hiv-aids.cmesociety.com/registration

Immunotherapy: Universal Antibody Drug against HIV/AIDS

A research team led by scientists at AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) invents a universal antibody drug against HIV/AIDS. By engineering a tandem bi-specific broadly neutralizing antibody, the team found that this novel antibody drug is universally effective not only against all genetically divergent global HIV-1 strains tested but also promoting the elimination of latently infected cells in a humanized mouse model. The new findings are now published in the April issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation.

AIDS remains an incurable disease. In the world, HIV/AIDS has resulted in estimated 40 million deaths while 36.9 million people are still living with the virus. To end the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is important to discover either an effective vaccine or a therapeutic cure. There are, however, two major scientific challenges: the tremendous HIV-1 diversity and the antiviral drug-unreachable latency. Since it is extremely difficult to develop an appropriate immunogen to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against genetically divergent HIV-1 subtypes, developing existing bnAbs as passive immunization becomes a useful approach for HIV-1 prophylaxis and immunotherapy.

Previous studies have investigated the potency, breadth and crystal structure of many bnAbs including their combination both in vitro and in vivo. Naturally occurring HIV-1 resistant strains, however, are readily found against these so-called bnAbs and result in the failure of durable viral suppression in bnAb-based monotherapy. To improve HIV-1 neutralization breadth and potency, bispecific bnAb, which blocks two essential steps of HIV-1 entry into target cells, have been engineered and show promising efficacy in animal models. Before the publication, tandem bi-specific bnAb has not been previously investigated in vivo against HIV-1 infection.

Research method and findings

The HKU research team invented a single gene-encoded tandem broadly neutralizing antibody, titled "BiIA-SG," which "kills two birds with one stone." By attaching to host protein CD4, BiIA-SG strategically ambushes invading HIV-1 particles to protect CD4 positive T cells. BiIA-SG not only displays a potent activity against all three panels of 124 genetically divergent global HIV-1 strains tested, but also prevents diverse live viral challenges completely in humanized mice. Moreover, gene transfer of BiIA-SG achieves pro-longed drug availability in vivo, leading to a promising efficacy of eliminating HIV-1 infected cells in humanized mice. Therefore, the research team provides a proof-of-concept that BiIA-SG is a novel universal antibody drug for prevention and immunotherapy against HIV-1 infection.

Significance of the study

The accumulated number of HIV-1 infections has more than doubled from 4,443 diagnostic cases in 2009 to 9,091 in 2017, despite the timely introduced combination antiretroviral therapy and prevention interventions in Hong Kong. Currently, the estimated annual cost is over HK$550 millions for antiretroviral drugs alone per year in Hong Kong, not to mention the rising issues of life-long financial burdens, drug toxicity and resistant viruses. The newly invented universal antibody drug brings the hope to fight these issues. With significantly improved breadth and potency, BiIA-SG will hopefully be the first "Made in Hong Kong" anti-HIV-1 antibody drug for clinical development.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180507111840.htm

To present your research paper in front of the experts from around the globe, under the Session: Treatment Strategies, Sub-Track: Immunotherapy submit your abstracts here: https://std-hiv-aids.cmesociety.com/call-for-abstracts/treatment-strategies