Revolutionary Vaccine Approach Zeroes In on HIV’s Vulnerabilities

Since HIV was associated with AIDS in 1983, scientists have encountered challenges in developing a vaccine due to the virus’s rapid changes, which complicate the creation of an immune response that can avert infection. Iain MacPherson, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), is addressing this issue with a promising innovative strategy. He recently secured a grant amounting to $410,813 from the National Institutes of Health to create a vaccine targeting a stable segment of the virus.

“Creating an HIV vaccine represents one of the most challenging and intricate issues in medicine,” remarked MacPherson. “Our goal is to engineer an immunogen that is more capable of defending individuals against various HIV strains, thereby aiding in curbing the transmission of HIV.”

MacPherson elaborated that the quick mutations of HIV present difficulties in vaccine development. Researchers are concentrating on a stable area of the virus’s spike protein to generate broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) that can combat several strains of the virus.

“If an antibody can latch onto that specific part of the HIV spike protein, it would hinder the interaction, neutralize the virus, and stop it from being capable of infecting an individual,” explained MacPherson.

Enhanced vaccine design

MacPherson’s study centers on speeding up the generation of these bnAbs by concentrating on certain B-cells. The novel vaccine design aspires to steer the immune system towards specific B-cells that can produce a crucial antibody, aiding them to develop it more efficiently.

Collaborating with JABSOM Professor Axel Lehrer, MacPherson is utilizing molecular engineering along with AI technologies to evaluate the vaccine design on humanized mouse models. If this approach proves effective, it could enhance vaccines for other viruses such as influenza and COVID-19.

A native of Hawaiʻi, MacPherson began his HIV vaccine research during his postdoctoral studies and became part of UH in 2017.

“Significant progress has been achieved in HIV vaccine development, and we are hopeful that we can play a role in addressing the HIV vaccine challenge,” he stated.

Learn more at JABSOM.