NIAID To Advance B-Cell Approach To HIV Vaccines
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To advance underdeveloped approaches to designing a preventive HIV vaccine, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is launching a new program to foster the study of B cells, immune cells that can produce antibodies with the capacity to neutralize HIV. The $15.6 million, five-year program will strengthen and expand the scientific foundation of HIV vaccine research through a network of 10 research teams nationwide that will share resources, methods and data to accelerate progress.
In the immune system, B cells recognize key parts of microbes, called antigens. Then, in cooperation with T cells, a reaction is triggered that leads B cells to produce antibodies, which can lock onto antigens and sweep them out of the body. HIV is devilishly good at fooling B cells and shielding itself from antibodies or changing its antigenic parts, so antibodies can rarely rid the body of the virus. The new NIAID research program aims to uncover mechanisms that will enable scientists to outwit HIV and stimulate the B-cell production of long-lasting antibodies that can neutralize many strains of the virus.
“This program reflects our commitment to probe the fundamental science underlying HIV vaccine development,” says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “The study of B cells and broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV will answer pressing, basic scientific questions and bring greater balance to our portfolio of HIV vaccine discovery research.”
Full Story: NIAID To Advance B-Cell Approach To HIV Vaccines
Source: National Institutes Of Health
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