Is There A Low Cost HIV Vaccine On The Horizon?

A group of researchers in Japan from the AIDS Research Center, the National Institute of Health and the central research laboratories of Ajinomoto have reported on the development of a HIV vaccine utilizing the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) tuberculosis vaccine which is effective in guinea pig and mice models, reports Pharma Japan.

The vaccine targets gp120 which functions when HIV infects the cells. Among the 35 amino acids which make up the third variable domain (V3) of the gp120 envelope, 19 are incorporated in a shuttle vector which is incorporated into BCG to form a prophylactic for HIV.

When this was administered to guinea pigs and mice, neutral antibody and cellular immunity levels were elevated and it appeared to be effective as a functioning vaccine.