艾滋病 z-bo 2020-12-18 357

　　An international research team published a paper in the journal Science, claiming that the injection of "α4β7" antibodies combined with antiretroviral drugs may become a new treatment for HIV infection. Experiments in rhesus monkeys have shown that with this method, the monkey immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in the rhesus monkeys will still maintain a low level after the antiretroviral drugs are stopped.

　　 Antiretroviral therapy is the most common option for many HIV-infected patients. However, long-term use of antiretroviral drugs not only poses a lot of financial pressure on patients, but also produces many adverse reactions. Therefore, finding better treatments for AIDS is the direction of researchers' efforts.

　　 This time, a research team composed of researchers from the United States, Germany and other countries targeted the "α4β7" antibody. Previous studies have shown that this antibody can prevent the spread of SIV in rhesus monkeys. In the experiment, the researchers administered antiretroviral drugs to rhesus monkeys 5 weeks after they were infected with SIV, and injected "α4β7" antibodies into their bodies after 4 weeks of taking the drugs. After 18 weeks, the researchers stopped administering drugs to the rhesus monkeys and stopped antibody injections at the 32nd week.

　　 The results of the control experiment showed that the rhesus monkeys who took only antiretroviral drugs rebounded sharply after stopping the drug, and the main target of the virus, the level of CD4 T cells, also dropped significantly. However, in rhesus monkeys with combination therapy, the number of SIV viruses remained at a low level that was difficult to detect after the drug was stopped, and the number of CD4 T cells also returned to normal levels. This effect can be maintained for 9 months.

　　 Although the researchers did not find neutralizing antibodies in rhesus monkeys that can prevent neonatal virus infection, they found non-neutralizing antibodies against the V2 cluster in the SIV envelope protein. Studies have shown that antibodies against the HIV V2 cluster have certain anti-infection effects.

　　The researchers pointed out that the results of the study provide a new alternative for the treatment of AIDS, so that patients do not need to take antiretroviral drugs continuously. At the same time, the results of this study are also beneficial for the development of new and effective HIV vaccines. The researchers said that in the next step, they will conduct a more in-depth study of the "α4β7" antibody to find the truth about its control of SIV.