Scientific Approach to Developing HIV Vaccine
HIV and AIDS remain a disaster across the world. Although developing countries are worse in terms of the burden imposed by HIV, the lack of cure of the viral condition poses a threat even to the developed countries. The nature of HIV makes it hard to be destroyed by the existing drugs. In most cases, HIV has been seen to be mutative, and changes form to take the form of the white blood cells. Therefore, finding a cure and vaccines, fir HIV is based on the ability of the drug or vaccine to differentiate the virus from antibodies. Vaccines are known for boosting immunity against certain diseases. Therefore, a vaccine against HIV appears to be a more efficient way of dealing with the condition since finding a cure has eloped the knowledge of scientists for a long time.
The first step in developing a vaccine against HIV is understanding the challenges associated with the development. Vaccines work by improving the production of antibodies to weaken the survival ability of the virus (Fauci, 2016). Also, the functionality of a vaccine is affected by the rate of mutation of the virus in question. HIV, however, differs from common viral diseases and the development of a vaccine appears complex. First, the growth of HIV is faster than any vaccine can stimulate the production of antibodies. Generally, HIV holds the ability to beat the production of antibodies with ease. Also, the rapid mutation nature of HIV poses a significant challenge in the creation of a vaccine. New types and species of the virus occur continuously rendering the functionality of any vaccine irrelevant. Generally, a vaccine that can help should be able to deal with standard development part among any species of the virus.
HIV has different forms in different regions. For example, North America is associated with the spread of subtype B virus while southern parts of Africa are known for sub-type C virus. The different subtypes pose a challenge in that each subtype is genetically distinct and requires a modified vaccine (Shin, 2016). Therefore, the vaccine to be developed should consider effectiveness across all the subtypes or a vaccine be generated for each subtype. The development of a vaccine for every subtype requires intensive resources and therefore, has remained a dream. Several vaccine trials have been made, although the results have continued to be disappointing. The World Health Organization has been at the forefront in funding researches associated with finding a cure and vaccine for HIV. The ongoing research on a possible vaccine for HIV gives some hope on the situation.
Proposals have been made by several scientists concerning the best method of coming up with an effective HIV vaccine. Generally, the antibodies present the first consideration in the development of any vaccine (Haynes, 2015). The first victims in the body in the event of a viral attack are the antibodies, and thus they should be strengthened to deal with any form of infection. First, broadly neutralizing antibodies have been identified as a potential solution to the HIV menace. Although the antibodies are produced by less than twenty per cent of HIV patients, research shows that the antibodies can be used to come up with an effective vaccine. Besides, the broadly neutralizing antibodies can identify several strains of HIV while targeting the less mutative parts of the virus. Generally, experimenting with the whole virus has proved complex due to the fast resistance associated with the virus. Therefore, broadly neutralizing antibodies can provide a way of dealing with a part of the virus that is shared by the more significant part of the virus population. Additionally, DNA vaccines could be an alternative in case the broadly neutralizing antibodies do not work.
Several researchers have proposed DNA vaccines. Although several studies are being conducted across the world, the future appears promising with the DNA vaccines. One challenge faced while coming up with vaccines is the mutative nature of HIV. DNA vaccines provide a way of dealing with the least part of the virus. The DNA is shared among several viruses, and thus an approach to destroy the DNA could give excellent results. Moreover, DNA vaccines act by producing a DNA protein that can be taken by the virus and can be recognized by the antibodies. If the antibodies are allowed to notice the presence of the virus, immunity is boosted hence the success of the vaccine.
In sum, a vaccine against HIV appears to be a more efficient way of dealing with the condition since finding a cure has eloped the knowledge of scientists for a long time. The first step in developing a vaccine against HIV is understanding the challenges associated with the development. Proposals have been made by several scientists concerning the best method of coming up with an effective HIV vaccine. Generally, antibodies can be helped in the identification of the virus, thus strengthening the immune system.
References
Fauci, A. S. (2016). An HIV vaccine: Mapping uncharted territory. Jama, 316(2), 143-144.
Haynes, B. F. (2015). New approaches to HIV vaccine development. Current opinion in immunology, 35, 39-47.
Shin, S. Y. (2016). Recent update in HIV vaccine development. Clinical and experimental vaccine research, 5(1), 6-11.