HIV Drug Found In South Africa

South African scientists have discovered how some people can make potent antibodies capable of neutralising strains of HIV,Business Day reported on Monday. “We’re hoping we can use this information to develop a vaccine that prompts the body’s immune system to make broadly neutralising antibodies,” Penny Moore was quoted saying. Moore is lead author of a paper describing the discovery, published in Nature Medicine on Sunday. The scientists have discovered that the virus evolves to evade its host’s immune system by adding a sugar molecule to its surface. The host’s antibodies adapt to recognise the sugar in such a way that they can kill nine of 10 known strains of HIV. The study is based on blood samples taken at regular intervals over several years from two women infected with HIV, enabling scientists to study how the virus and the women’s antibodies have changed over time, Moore said. Meanwhile, according to The Gazette (Montreal) newspaper, a new study has found that chemicals commonly found in bananas are as potent in preventing HIV as two synthetic anti-HIV drugs. Researchers say the findings could lead to a cheap new component for applied microbicides that prevent intimate transmission of HIV. The miracle substance in bananas is called BanLec, a type of lectin, which are the sugar-binding proteins found in a variety of plants. Scientists have long been interested in lectins because of their ability to halt the chain reaction that leads to certain viral infections. In the case of BanLec, it works by binding naturally to the sugar-rich envelope that encases the HIV virus, thus blocking its entry into the body. “The problem with some HIV drugs is that the virus can mutate and become resistant, but that’s much harder to do in the presence of lectins. Lectins can bind to the sugars found on different spots of the HIV-1 envelope, and presumably it will take multiple mutations for the virus to get around them,” said lead author Michael D. Swanson.