SAN ANTONIO — A group of researchers at Texas Biomedical Research Institute discovered a new defense mechanism to fight off the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1).
HIV is a virus that attacks a person's immune system and weakens the body to fight off infections. The virus is transmitted sexually and by needle or syringe use. There is no cure for the virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015 stats showed that roughly 1.1 million people in the U.S. live with HIV and of those people, 1 in 7 did not know they were infected with the virus.
Dr. Ruth Ruprecht from Texas Biomed is part of the team that found that a antibody called Immunoglobulin M (IgM), was effective in stopping HIV. The antibody exists in the lining of body cavities.
Her team created a synthetic version of the antibody that has five arms. They treated rhesus monkeys with both the IgM and a form of HIV. They discovered that the synthetic antibody captured the virus and prevented it from spreading to the rest of the body.
"IgM is actually really interesting. It's an ancient immunoglobulin. All vertebraes have it, including sharks, birds, you name it," Ruprecht said. "IGM has five sub-units together. So, IgM basically has five times more capability of trapping virus particles."
Dr. Ruprecht said the new discovery opens the door for future vaccine development.
"We fully plan to look at this in the field of HIV and virus infections in the primate models. So, in other words, we have opened up a new field and we are excited about going into this new direction," Ruprecht said.