Nat commun: single dose antibody therapy may block the infection and replication of neonatal HIV

January 10, 2020 / Biovalley / recently, a research report published in the international journal Nature communications, scientists from the University of health and science of Oregon found for the first time that single dose antibody based therapy can effectively inhibit the transmission of HIV from mother to baby after studying new non-human primates Image source: NIAID However, when to give a single dose is the key The study found that after 30 hours of exposure to SHIV (monkey HIV), receiving two kinds of antibody combination therapy would make the new born macaque not infected with the virus; if the treatment was delayed to 48 hours, the other half of the new born macaque would be infected with SHIV because it received the minimum dose of antibody combination therapy; by contrast, when exposed, 4 New macaques receiving standard HIV therapy (antiretroviral drugs) will be free from SHIV infection after a three-week treatment program starting in 8 hours Professor Nancy haigwood, the researcher, said that these promising findings may mean that babies born to HIV positive mothers can still effectively resist HIV infection even if they receive less treatment In this study, for the first time in non-human primates, researchers found that a single dose of broad-spectrum neutralizing antibody could effectively inhibit the infection of SHIV after exposure to the virus Previous studies have shown that four doses of antibody therapy can inhibit the infection of SHIV after exposure In this study, all 10 primate pups were not infected with SHIV for six months These two studies Pgt121 and vrc07-523 were used The researchers pointed out that short-term antiretroviral therapy can effectively inhibit the spread of HIV to newborns after exposure Infants born to HIV positive humans usually receive drug mix therapy for about 6 weeks, and then they will be tested for HIV If the test results are positive, they need to take HIV drugs for life However, this study shows that the time after exposure is 48 hours The first three weeks of antiretroviral treatment may prevent non-human primates from contracting SHIV HIV positive women usually receive antiretroviral treatment during their pregnancy, which can inhibit the transmission of the virus to developing infants, but sometimes HIV transmission occurs between mothers and infants The offspring of HIV positive mothers are usually given antiretroviral therapy to inhibit the virus infection However, there are many side effects, including The researchers also worry about the long-term impact of antiretroviral therapy on children's development Antibody is non-toxic, it can be modified and exist in the body for a long time, thus reducing the frequency of treatment Therefore, researchers want to clarify whether alternative or complementary antiretroviral therapy can be found in the offspring of HIV positive mothers and HIV adult patients Next, researchers plan to conduct more in-depth research to clarify whether different antibodies or combinations of antibodies and antiretroviral therapy can be more effective, and they want to determine whether the antibody therapy they evaluate can eliminate HIV or inhibit HIV replication Original sources: Shapiro, M.B., Cheever, T., Malherbe, D.C et al Single dose bNAb cocktail or abrogated art post exposure regions achieve tight SHIV control without adaptive immunity NAT Commission 11, 70 (2020) doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-13972-y