How HIV’s evasion tactics could help fight the flu

One vaccine. Lifetime immunity. This is the goal for thousands of researchers tackling one of the world’s most evasive pathogens – human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV has foiled both the immune system and vaccines. However, the success of HIV at evading the immune system is leading to vaccine research that may help tackle other illnesses, like influenza, hepatitis C, and mosquito-borne malaria, dengue and West Nile virus. So how can the way HIV shields itself from the immune system lead us to make new vaccines for other infectious pathogens? HIV hides from the immune system HIV has a number of different tricks to evade the immune system. During an immune response to infection, antibodies normally lock onto a target on the surface of the virus to disable the infectious threat. To avoid this, HIV changes its shape so a known target for antibodies is hidden within the virus. Antibodies scan the surface, but can’t...