The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7349 p577
14 May 2005

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Antibodies work against HIV

Neutralising antibodies may have a role in HIV prophylaxis in humans, say researchers. They administered a combination of three monoclonal antibodies to six patients acutely infected with HIV-1 and to eight patients chronically infected with HIV-1. All the patients had stopped taking antiretroviral treatment.

During antibody treatment, re-emergence of the virus was delayed in four of the acutely infected patients and two of the chronically infected patients. The researchers found that this delay in rebound of the virus was attributable to one particular antibody, called 2G12, and that it must be used in high doses. However, the virus eventually mutated to escape this antibody.

The researchers say that this study provides evidence that antibodies may be useful in controlling HIV infection, but they must be potent and used in high doses to be effective.

The study appeared in an early online publication of Nature Medicine on 8 May.