All articles tagged with #niaid
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has released a research agenda for H5N1 influenza, focusing on understanding virus biology, developing prevention and treatment strategies, and improving detection methods. This plan aims to address the current H5N1 outbreak in U.S. dairy cows and potential human-to-human transmission, leveraging both domestic and international research infrastructures.
Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have identified potential targets for designing treatments and vaccines for the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a common virus that can lead to various cancers and other health issues. Their research focused on a viral protein called gp42, and they discovered two monoclonal antibodies that interact with distinct sites on gp42, showing promise in preventing EBV infection and related diseases in mice. The findings could lead to the development of antibody-based treatments and vaccines for EBV, benefiting individuals at risk of severe or fatal EBV disease.
Three different HIV antibodies, including a human broadly neutralizing antibody and two antibodies isolated from previously vaccinated monkeys, have been shown to protect monkeys from acquiring simian-HIV (SHIV) in a proof-of-concept study. The antibodies target the fusion peptide, a site on an HIV surface protein that helps the virus fuse with and enter cells. This study, led by the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, demonstrates that fusion peptide-directed antibodies can provide protection against SHIV and may inform the development of a preventive HIV vaccine for humans.
A Phase 1 clinical trial of a preventive HIV vaccine candidate called VIR-1388 has begun enrollment in the United States and South Africa. The vaccine, which uses a cytomegalovirus (CMV) vector, aims to instruct the immune system to produce T cells that can recognize HIV and prevent chronic infection. The trial, sponsored by Vir Biotechnology and conducted through the NIAID-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network, will enroll 95 HIV-negative participants and evaluate the vaccine's safety and ability to induce an HIV-specific immune response. Initial results are expected in late 2024.