# Antibody discoveries propel HIV vaccine research

• Antibody discoveries propel HIV vaccine research: In the past year, researchers have discovered at least eight antibodies that can stop a wide range of HIV strains from infecting human cells in the laboratory. For instance, a team led by NIAID scientists discovered two human antibodies that can block more than 90 percent of known global HIV strains from infecting human cells, and demonstrated how one of these disease-fighting proteins accomplishes this feat. Learning the structure of the new antibodies and where they bind to the virus is helping equip scientists with the tools to design a vaccine that could stimulate healthy people to make some of the antibodies as protection against HIV infection.
  
  
• New hope for people co-infected with HIV and tuberculosis (TB): The Cambodia-based study known as CAMELIA demonstrated that the survival of untreated, HIV-infected adults with very weak immune systems and newly diagnosed TB can be prolonged by starting antiretroviral therapy two weeks after beginning TB treatment, rather than waiting eight weeks, as had been standard. This finding is valuable because beginning treatment for HIV in some highly immunocompromised individuals paradoxically can worsen the symptoms of co-infections such as TB, yet waiting too long to start antiretroviral therapy can lead to death. TB accounted for nearly a quarter of the 2 million HIV-related deaths worldwide in 2008. NIAID and the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis co-funded the CAMELIA study.