Clues to curing Aids could live in antibodies

The discovery of how a Kwazulu-Natal woman’s body responded to her HIV infection by making potent antibodies may hold the clue to an HIV vaccine or cure for Aids. In a study that was published in the scientific journal, Nature, South African and American researchers describe how the research team found and identified these antibodies in her blood and then duplicated them by cloning the antibodies in the laboratory. The cloned antibodies were used in a series of experiments to elucidate the pathway followed by her immune system to make the antibodies. The antibodies of the woman, referred to as Caprisa 256 in the study, were analysed from six to 225 weeks after infection. “These potent antibodies take years to develop as antibodies constantly evolve. We discovered Caprisa 256’s potent antibodies three years after she got infected, so we went backwards in time and traced how they changed over time,” said co-author...