But given the track record, you probably wouldn't want to predict a time frame for when we could realistically see a vaccine, right?
I really think it's folly to predict a time frame when you're dealing with discovery. You just never know when you're going to discover what it is that's going to really put you on the pathway. When you're dealing with development where you know exactly what you're aiming at, as we've done with other viruses, for which we have made successful vaccines, then it's pretty easy for me to give you a time frame.

When you envision a final product, is it good enough—given all the difficulties with HIV's envelope protein—to settle for a vaccine that encourages T cells to reduce a person's viral load?
I think the T cell vaccine could have something to do with blocking acquisition. Clearly the gold standard of blocking acquisition of infection is a good neutralizing antibody response. If we don't have a good neutralizing antibody response, we will not—I can predict for you—successfully get a vaccine that prevents initial infection.

So, T cell, yes—it might influence the viral load. But, I'm more interested in T cell responses to synergize with the neutralizing antibody response to help block initial infection. So, that neutralizing antibody gets rid of a lot of the virus as it comes into the body, but the cells that do escape and get infected, the T cell immune response could eliminate those cells. I think of the T cell response and the antibody response as being synergistic very early on—not just antibody blocks infection, and if that fails then T cells later on keep you in a less progressive state of disease. That could be, but none of us are giving up on the possibility that a vaccine might actually prevent initial infection.

Is there a component to this decision to redraw the way ahead in vaccine research that's driven by budgetary concerns—becausethe NIH budget is due to remain flat?
Of course. If you want to pursue new pathways and develop new programs, have new initiatives, and you have a very flat budget, it's much more difficult to maneuver that. You have to reprioritize and reassign resources from one project to another. It's much more difficult to do that—because we have a lot of worthy projects—if you have a flat budget. If you have an increase, you can be sure that we're going to selectively give that increase to vaccine discovery. But, in the face of a flat budget, it certainly constricts and constrains the flexibility that you have to do some of the things that we're talking about.

So, if a new administration came in and increased the NIH budget, the HIV vaccine program would be at the top of the list to receive new funds—even though global spending on finding a vaccine has quadrupled to near $800 million in the last decade?
The HIV vaccine is a very high priority for NIH, for NIAID, so whenever we get new resources—and hopefully that will be soon—there certainly would be a preferential targeting of those resources to vaccine discovery and development. That doesn't mean that anything that's new will automatically go to AIDS vaccine. We have a lot of other problems we need to deal with. There's malaria, there's tuberculosis, there's a whole bunch of things. But, given the seriousness of the situation, we will selectively favor that—not to the exclusion of other things, but we certainly would selectively favor that.

In terms of the priorities you outlined in the Science article, what's the top one on that list that you would want to achieve to moving the field forward?
The highest priority is a neutralizing antibody response. That brings in everything from getting the [virus's] crystallographic structure and the confirmation of the envelope to understanding how you could scaffold the epitope [antigen surface eliciting an immune response] of that particular binding site into something that's immunogenic. That, to me, is really the highest priority.

So, you want it all?
Right.

5 Comments

1. 1. Mariojosé 04:33 PM 8/1/08

   Amiable readers, to maintain the fidelity we published the article in the original language.
   Las vacunas son una preparación de antígenos que se inyectan en el cuerpo y generan una respuesta de ataque por medio de los anticuerpos que contribuyen a ponerle fin a algún virus o bacteria. Una vez que han sido suministradas en el organismo generan lo que se conoce por memoria inmunológica por lo que, en la mayoría de los casos, vuelven inmune a la persona a esa enfermedad determinada.La inoculación cuenta con antecedentes en China y Turquía, pero la primera vacuna como tal fue inventada, en 1796, por un médico rural inglés llamado Edward Jenner que dio con una forma para combatir la epidemia de la viruela. Jenner, observó que las mujeres que trabajaban ordeñando las vacas contraían una enfermedad que era conocida como la viruela de las vacas, sin embargo, ésta las hacía inmunes a la viruela humana. Así, sacó una muestra de leche de vaca de la mano de una de las granjeras y la inyectó en el brazo de un niño. Éste sufrió los síntomas de la viruela vacuna. Cuarenta y ocho días después, cuando ya no quedaban rastros de la enfermedad, le inyectó una muestra de la viruela humana y éste no padeció ningún síntoma del mal. Basados en esta observación, nosotros planteamos la siguiente hipótesis: las cucarachas son los insectos sobrevivientes más antiguos sobre la faz de la tierra, por su carga atómica que poseen han podido sobrevivir a grandes cataclismos y fenómenos atmosféricos, así también, las terribles bombas atómicas creadas por el hombre.
   Existes miles de variedades de cucarachas, pero específicamente las cucarachas que viven en las alcantarillas y se alimentan de los residuos vaginales, el semen, las heces fecales y los excrementos. Estas han logrado sobrevivir, son inmunes y son portadoras del virus del sida. De igual manera como Edgard Jenner, hizo su investigación se hará es mismo procedimiento. Queremos decir hay que aumentar la capacidad inmune del cuerpo humano, aumentar los anticuerpos para poder resistir y convivir con el VIH/Sida. Cuando el cuerpo recibe esta dosis de virus o bacterias, el sistema inmunológico se pone en alerta y destruye a estos agentes que le son extraños al organismo. Así, cuando una dosis realmente dañina decide atacar, el cuerpo ya se encuentra preparado para reconocerla y atacarla rápidamente. Edward Jenner nació el 17 de mayo de 1749 en Berkeley, condado de Gloucester, Inglaterra y falleció un 26 de enero de 1823 en la propia localidad de Berkeley. Fue un afamado
   investigador, médico y poeta.

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2. 2. Mariojosé 05:09 PM 8/1/08

   Amiable Readers, the proteins of the cockroach are the solution for the vaccine of AIDS. The director of the NIAID, Dr. Anthony Fausi, must initiate the investigation.

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3. 3. jpuah23 01:31 PM 12/7/09

   There are many natural ways to rid your body of HIV. In contrast with the traditional antiviral cocktails of medicine today, which cost thousands, have severe side effects, and comes with the double edged sword delema,meaning if the virus doesn’t kill you the cocktails will, this medicine is all natural.Please visit this site for the full information about this subject……http://pushgood-nomorehiv.blogspot.com/

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4. 4. dlanasa 09:54 AM 9/20/10

   I read a testimoney that coconut milk can stop AIDS; monolaurine can be purchased as the nutrient found in the coconut milk.
   There was a doctor from India that said he stopped the AIDS virus with a mixture of spices. I read the abstract about 7 years ago; it is on medline. I vaguely remember he called the mixture with a word that begins with "K". And what about Safi sold in East Indian grocery stores. There are so many foods that support the immune system, why do they not talk too much about them?

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5. 5. dlanasa 09:57 AM 9/20/10

   I read a testimoney that someone was healed of AIDS with coconut milk; monlaurine is a nutrient from that food that can be purchased from the health food stores.
   Also, I read an abstract of a study that a doctor from India stopped the sickness with some spice mixture that began with a "K" about 7 reads ago I read it. What about Safi? Can be purchased in an East Indian grocery store. So many foods support the immune system. Why is not diet mentioned more?

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