A single injection of gene therapy at birth could offer protection against HIV for years, taking advantage of a critical window into the first moments of life that could transform the fight against pediatric infections into high -risk regions, according to a study by Nature Made in MacaCos.
The authors affirm that this preclinical work demonstrates that the first weeks of life, when the immune system is naturally more tolerant, can be the optimal time to administer gene therapies, an experimental technique whose objective is to correct a defective gene or replace it with another healthy.
These therapies, scientists say, would be rejected at more advanced ages. Behind the research there are experts from several American universities, such as Tulane, Florida, California or Pittsburgh.
More than 100,000 children contract HIV every year, mainly through maternal infant transmission after birth by breastfeeding.
Antiretroviral treatments have demonstrated their effectiveness in suppressing the virus and limiting transmission. However, compliance with treatment and access to doctors decrease after childbirth, especially in areas with limited access to health care.
This new hypothesis could help protect newborns in high -risk areas during the most vulnerable period of their lives, says Amir Arrideshir, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the National Center for Primates Research in Tulane.
Gene therapy combat HIV: study in macaque
The study was conducted with 65 rhesus macaques (mostly young although also youth), of which 12 formed the control group.
They received a gene therapy that program the cells to continuously produce antibodies that fight HIV. The moment of administration turned out to be fundamental for the unique treatment to offer long -term protection.
Those who perceived him during his first month of life were protected against infection for at least three years without the need for reinforcement, which could mean coverage to adolescence in humans, reports a statement from the University of Tulane.
On the contrary, the treaties between 8 and 12 weeks showed a more developed and less tolerant immune system that did not accept treatment with the same effectiveness.
“Whenever the treatment is administered near the birth, the baby’s immune system will accept it and consider it part of itself,” summarizes Arrideshir.
To administer it, the researchers used an adenoasociated virus (AAV), a harmless virus that can act as a load truck to transport the genetic code to cells.
The virus was sent to muscle cells, unique by their longevity, and transmitted instructions to produce widely neutralizing antibodies, or BNABS, which are able to neutralize multiple HIV strains.
This approach solved a long -standing problem with BNABS. Previous studies discovered that they were effective in fighting HIV, but required repeated injections, which are expensive and propose logistics challenges in environments with few resources.
“Instead, we convert these muscle cells, which are long -lived, in microfábrica that continue to produce these antibodies,” Arrideshir details.
The newborns showed greater tolerance and expressed high levels of BNABS, which successfully prevented infection during simulated breastfeeding and subsequent exhibitions that imitated sexual transmission. Older babies and young people were more likely to produce antibodies against the drug, which inhibited treatment.
The researchers also discovered that exposing fetuses to antibodies before birth helped older babies to accept gene therapy later, avoiding immune rejection that usually occurs with age.
With doubts about what will happen in humans
After demonstrating that a single injection at birth can provide immunity against HIV for more than three years in this animal model, now you have to focus on moving the findings to humans, which would imply optimizing the dose for babies and conduct formal security studies, Arrideshir details.
In this sense, a pediatric test trial is being developed with the support of the Gates Foundation to test the BNAB with AAV vectors in babies, confirms the researcher; The specific deadlines depend on the regulatory approvals.
Also, according to the authors, this approach could be adapted to protect against other diseases such as malaria.
With EFE information
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