Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - March 1, 1986
Although an effective human vaccine against acquired immune deficiency syndrome is still considered to be years away, the researchers said laboratory studies indicated progress toward that goal.
Dr. Walter R. Dowdle, AIDS coordinator for the Public Health Service, said scientists could not use conventional techniques to produce a vaccine against the AIDS virus.
These techniques involve the use of a weakened live virus or one that has been deactivated or killed to stimulate an antibody response in a host. Proteins on these viruses prepare the immune system to fight off attacks from similar full-strength viruses. Chimpanzees to Be Tested
But this approach is unacceptable with the AIDS virus because the whole virus is too pathogenic and unpredictable, researchers say. So they are experimenting with using pieces of the virus's protein coat to stimulate immune responses. Some of these protein subunits do stimulate antibodies to the virus, Dr. Dowdle said, but it remains to be seen if this response is strong enough to neutralize the virus.
Dr. Peter J. Fischinger of the National Cancer Institute said the first laboratory vaccine tests using chimpanzees would begin in a few weeks.
The chimpanzees will be vaccinated with proteins of the AIDS virus to get them to produce antibodies, he said, then injected with the virus to see if the vaccines offer any protection.
The chimpanzee tests follow work with other animals that shows they do respond with antibody production when infected with the AIDS virus. Although most animals do not get AIDS from the virus, mice, rabbits, pigs and rhesus monkeys produced antibodies after they were infected.
When these animal antibodies were put into culture dishes with live cells normally attacked by the AIDS virus, Dr. Fischinger said, they protected the cells against death from the virus.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is an incurable disease that destroys the body's protective immune system, leaving victims vulnerable to infection. It is spread by close contact with blood, semen and other bodily fluids from infected persons. As of this week, 17,741 people in the United States have been afflicted with AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control reported, and 9,294 have died.
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