Study By Oregon Health & Science University Shows That Single Dose Of Antibodies Can Knock Out HIV In Newborns
Source: Thailand Medical News Jan 07, 2020 4 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 17 minutes ago
New nonhuman primate research suggests for the first time that a single dose of an
antibody-based treatment can prevent
HIV transmission from mother to baby. The findings are being published in the journal
Nature Communications.
The time or period when that single dose is given is key, however. The study found rhesus macaque
newborns did not develop the monkey form of
HIV, called SHIV, when they received a combination of two antibodies 30 hours after being exposed to the virus.
The study showed that delaying treatment until 48 hours, on the other hand, resulted in half of the baby macaques developing SHIV when they were given four smaller doses of the same antibody cocktail. In comparison, the study found macaques that received the current standard
HIV treatment ie antiretroviral drugs, remained SHIV-free when they started a three-week regimen of that therapy 48 hours after exposure
The study's author, Dr Nancy Haigwood, Ph.D., a Professor of Pathobiology and Immunology in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine told
Thailand Medical News, "These promising findings could mean babies born to
HIV-positive mothers can still beat
HIV with less treatment."
This breakthrough discovery is the first time a single dose of broadly neutralizing
antibodies given after viral exposure has been found to prevent SHIV infection in nonhuman primate
newborns. Previous research by Haigwood, Ann Hessell, Ph.D., and others showed four doses of
antibodies started 24 hours after exposure prevented SHIV infection, with all 10 of the baby primates in that study not having any SHIV virus for six months. Both studies used a combination of two
antibodies called PGT121 and VRC07-523.
The research also suggests a much shorter course of antiretroviral therapy given after virus exposure could prevent
HIV transmission to
newborns. Human babies born from
HIV-positive mothers typically take the drug cocktail, a personalized regimen of multiple drugs taken daily for about six weeks before being re-tested. If the tests are then positive, they likely need to take
HIV drugs for the rest of their lives. But this study showed nonhuman primate
newborns didn't have SHIV after undergoing antiretroviral therapy for just three weeks starting 48 hours after exposure.
Typically, most
HIV-positive women take antiretroviral therapy drugs during pregnancy for their own health, as well as to prevent passing the virus onto their developing child. But mother-to-baby transmission sometimes still happens. Children born to
HIV-positive mothers also are given antiretroviral therapy to further prevent infection. However, this drug cocktail can have many negative side effects, involves making special liquid formulations for
newborns&
lt;/strong>, and researchers worry about antiretroviral therapy's long-term consequences for development.
These antibodies, however, aren't toxic and can be modified to last a long time in the body, which reduces treatment frequency. This has led researchers to explore their potential to replace or supplement antiretroviral therapy for newborns with HIV-positive mothers as well as for HIV-positive adults.
Dr Haigwood next plans to see if different antibodies, or a combination of antibodies and antiretroviral therapy, could be even more effective. They also want to determine if the antibodies they evaluate actually eliminate HIV, or only prevent it from replicating.
The study team has regularly shared their primate research findings with the scientific community, including those involved in the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network, which is currently leading two trials evaluating a single antibody to treat HIV-exposed newborns.
Reference : Single-dose bNAb cocktail or abbreviated ART post-exposure regimens achieve tight SHIV control without adaptive immunity, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13972-y
