MEDICAL UPDATE: Aspects of the Immune Response


MEDICAL UPDATE: Aspects of the Immune Response

Being Alive Newsletter; July 1992
Dr. Robert Schooley and reported by Walt Senterfitt

Now what are the aspects of the immune response that might be associated with this power? The two that have been most focused upon are neutralizing antibodies that bind to infectious virus and render that virus either noninfectious or less infectious, and cytotoxic T-cells (a type of T8 cell), so-called killer T-cells, that recognize certain antigens on the surface of infected cells and attack and kill these infected cells before a spread of the infection can occur.

If one looks at immune-based therapies in this light, there are two general classes of therapy that have been employed. Some have aimed at increasing the anti-HIV humoral or passive immune response, as in the trials of transfusing serum from people at earlier, latent stages of infection into those with advanced disease. In the next six months to a year, I think you will see more efforts to use monoclonal antibodies to accomplish the same thing. The other kind of approach is to try to enhance the cellular immune response. These include the therapeutic vaccine studies and the ex vivo expansion of the killer T-cells, taking them out of the body and cloning or otherwise expanding them and then putting them back in.


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