Mankind may never find AIDS vaccine
2009-05-25 10:41:20 Source: Waitan Huabao
In September last year by the world recognized the success of the most promising experimental AIDS vaccine failed announced. Nobel Medicine Prize winner, world-renowned AIDS expert Professor David Baltimore deliver a speech, claiming that based on the complexity of HIV variability, the human can not be found in the 25 years of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccines, "and very There may never find such a vaccine. "

In recent days, held in Boston, AAAS (AAAS) annual meeting, President David Baltimore at the opening speech on the AIDS vaccine research on speech. In his speech, he said: "Based on the complexity of HIV variability, the researchers at least 25 years or 30 years can not find effective for AIDS vaccine to human or even human ...... may never find such an AIDS vaccine has been. "

In September last year, a kind of scientific experts has been sent to the best hope for HIV vaccine, in clinical trials were judged to be invalid. Baltimore disappointed, at the annual meeting said: "Such an outcome, I can understand, but find it hard to accept."


(Picture: HIV)

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology professor of biology. In 1975, he discovered an enzyme that year was the Nobel Prize in Medicine, he found that the enzyme was later proved to be the growth of HIV in the process of copying a key factor. Baltimore to become the world, therefore the field of HIV research leader since 1986 to lead a group of experts on AIDS vaccine research to proceed.

The most promising AIDS vaccine failure

AIDS research experts were high hopes for the vaccine by the United States pharmaceutical company Merck developed known as "HIV-1" of the integrase inhibitors, integrase inhibitors that can inhibit HIV viral replication process Two essential enzymes, protease and reverse transcriptase (HIV viral replication process and a total of only three enzymes). This is a curb the HIV virus through the living environment and to control their own treatment of the growth of new ideas, the monkeys in the experiment's success was obvious.

In 2004, Merck & Co., Inc. join the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as well as an HIV vaccine Union group of academic institutions, the beginning of a global collection of clinical trial volunteers, the pilot project was named for the "pace" (Step).

1500 from North America, South America, the Caribbean and Australia, volunteers took part in the experiment, their age ranged from 18 to 45 years old. Before the experiment, the volunteers have not been infected with HIV virus, but they are all high-risk groups of AIDS, including sex workers and gay social circle of confusion.

Volunteers were divided into two groups, one group was injected with the vaccine integrase inhibitors, and the other group injected with a placebo have no real impact. When the two groups of volunteers to be recalled again when the two groups of experts made a detailed inspection.

Inspection results showed that vaccination was found in the group of volunteers, a total of 24 were infected with HIV; while the other group, a total of 21 infections, two groups of experiments in vivo level of viral load and no different. Followed by tracking test showed that the integrase inhibitors injected with the vaccine volunteers even more easily infected with HIV virus. Although the study was also unable to appear in theory to find the crux of the problem, but the irrefutable fact. So by the time-consuming, the cost of billions of dollars of the experiment was suspended, in late September last year, formally ended in failure, and even been accused of breach of science, jeopardizing the safety of mankind. "Merck & Co., Inc. is to create chaos, how can such a vaccine in so many different groups and regions to conduct experiments." Another well-known from the international AIDS vaccine research groups, vaccine experts said Jeffrey利弗森.

Astray, or an impasse

Integrase inhibitors vaccine experiment fails, the field of AIDS research at the voice was full of pessimism, even some scientists began to search for an AIDS vaccine that is simply no way out of the impasse.

Baltimore is a representative of this attitude, "before both the medical profession for AIDS vaccine research is full of overly optimistic sentiment. From the beginning of the last century 80's, the experts predicted in the 5 to 10 years developed an AIDS vaccine. But 20 years later, the vaccine is still not found.

Professor Baltimore is also engaged in their treatment of AIDS research. His main research a combination therapy, including gene therapy of stem cells and to explore the full range of immune system to find ways to treat AIDS. "HIV will always have the means to totally fool the human immune system, we have to find a natural immune system than the smarter way to control the AIDS virus, because in a natural environment, the immune system does not work on AIDS. We still have a lot of work to do, I do not hypocritical to say that what we have already found ways to find a new vaccine. "

Baltimore's warning not an alarmist. He knows AIDS virus replication complex variation of the process of immune system to collapse. However, AIDS is a chronic problem of mankind's ultimate view of many experts can not agree.

More point of view, only the current AIDS research from going astray. Greenspan pass the United States Institute of Virology and Immunology is劳拉纳波Napolitano and her team of experts to study the use of a growth hormone to combat HIV virus, which can stimulate growth hormone are targeted at the role of immune cells growth, the study has not yet begun for the current clinical trials. "Maybe we will fail, perhaps we really should find a better direction to study the HIV vaccine, but we never doubt that we will eventually succeed, we fail every time an error is confirmed by the way, so in any case, We have step by step closer to success. "



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