A clue for mounting better immune response against HIV !

Saturday, November 6, 2010

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Do you know that about 1 out of every 300 people infected with HIV, can build up potent immune response against the virus, thereby, do not develop AIDS ! These “HIV controller” do not even need any treatment where others continuously develop full blown AIDS and eventually die. Though our body produce antibodies against HIV, our immune system cannot compete with the virus because of it’s rapid mutation rate and several other reasons. But those “HIV controllers” can somehow generate effective immune response. This finding is, nonetheless, very fascinating because it can perhaps offer a clue to treat AIDS.

Bruce Walker, an immunologist from the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, first realized the clinical importance of such finding and started work with it. He and his colleagues went directly to the physicians and collected DNA sample from more than 900 HIV controllers and from about 2600 individuals with normal HIV infection. They compared both type of samples with each other, using GWAS (Genome-wide Association Study) technique, to find SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism). They had found at least 300 sites that were assumed to be associated with the regulation of HIV. As it was very laborious to work with all 300 sites, they used regression analysis and finally had selected 4 sites that are strongly linked to HIV resistance. However it was not possible for them to suggest whether these sites cause HIV immunity by themselves or by associating with others. But hopefully they have found some specific amino acids difference in the HLA-B protein sequence between controllers and individuals with normal infection. HLA-B protein is associated with the antigen presentation which is an essential step of efficient immune response. It can be assumed that the tiny change in the HLA-B protein structure due to amino acids variation,may provide scope for better antigen presentation in those controller individuals.

Researchers are yet to explain the proper mechanism of how altered HlA-B protein induce better immune response, but as always scientist are not that impatient, rather they are charged up with the finding and aimed to draw an explanation about proficient immune response and ultimately design a proper treatment procedure for AIDS

Source: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101104/full/news.2010.582.html