"Leapfrog strategy" to HIV vaccine

A new technique for finding a vaccine that could be effective in fighting HIV has been used by researchers.

Scientists at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia discovered that bypassing the usual path for developing vaccines against the virus could have different effects.

Gene transfer technology is used instead, with molecules being produced to block infection.

Philip R Johnson, chief scientific officer at the Children's Hospital and study leader, wrote in the journal Nature Medicine that the method was effective in protecting monkeys from infection with SIV, which is closely linked to HIV.

"We used a leapfrog strategy, bypassing the natural immune system response that was the target of all previous HIV and SIV vaccine candidates," he stated.

"To ultimately succeed, more and better molecules that work against HIV, including human monoclonal antibodies, will be needed."

The researchers have predicted that the technique may also be effective against diseases such as malaria in the future.

Other organisations involved in funding the research included the National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

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