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Scientists at The Wistar Institute have achieved a milestone in HIV vaccine research: a single immunisation that triggers neutralising antibodies in nonhuman primates - something never before seen. Published in Nature Immunology, the candidate vaccine, WIN332, could dramatically shorten HIV vaccination schedules, potentially making them simpler and more accessible worldwide.
The breakthrough, led by Amelia Escolano, PhD, focuses on an engineered region of the HIV envelope protein, called the V3-glycan epitope. By removing a sugar molecule previously thought essential for antibody binding, the team designed WIN332 to defy conventional assumptions about vaccine design.
“A single injection of WIN332 already produced detectable neutralisation within three weeks,” said Escolano. “A second booster increased this effect, showing that effective immunity could be achieved with far fewer doses than previously believed.”
The study also revealed a new class of HIV-neutralising antibodies that do not require the N332-glycan sugar, expanding the toolkit available for developing vaccines against diverse HIV strains worldwide.
Ignacio Relano-Rodriguez, PhD, first author of the study, added:
“If successful in humans, this approach could reduce HIV vaccination protocols to just three injections, making them shorter, simpler, and more affordable.”
The results have already attracted attention from global health organisations, paving the way for human clinical trials. The team is also working on subsequent immunogens designed to further enhance neutralisation efficiency in a shortened vaccination series.
This research involved collaboration between Wistar, Tulane National Primate Research Center, University of Georgia, Scripps Research Institute, and University of Pennsylvania. The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Gates Foundation, and other major funding bodies.
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