Scientists Take Step Forward Toward Developing HIV Vaccine

Despite more than two decades of intense research efforts, scientists are yet to come up with an effective vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The ideal vaccine against HIV, scientists say, should efficiently prevent virus transmission and at the same time be provided at very low cost to allow widespread use in developing countries. Plants have been used as biofactories to produce HIV antigens as potential components of an AIDS vaccine. Inexpensive and effective plant-sourced vaccines may prove to be beneficial, particularly in developing countries.

Recently a team of researchers from Örebro University in Sweden reported that they have been successful in producing the HIV antigen p24 in transgenic plants. P24, a component of the HIV particle capsid, is the major target of T-cell-mediated immune responses in HIV-positive individuals.

Mice that have been fed with the p24-accumulating plants have reacted and formed antibodies against the protein. "It is highly probable that the human immune system will respond in the same manner, but this is not to say that this would be sufficient to provide complete protection," said Ingrid Lindh, lead researcher on the project. To increase the potency of the vaccine, the researchers are going to add more HIV proteins together with other compounds that reinforce the body's reaction to HIV-specific proteins. They will also express the p24 antigen in a "vegetable that is easy to cultivate in different climates and is readily accepted in different cultures."

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