Talk:Broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies

New CD4BS antibody N6 from Patient Z258

New research published Identification of a CD4-Binding-Site Antibody to HIV that Evolved Near-Pan Neutralization Breadth

"One patient's blood might hold a new weapon against HIV". this patient, called Z258, ... has natural immunity to the virus. His immunity is a little different than the famous Berlin Patient, who received a bone marrow transplant from someone who has T cells HIV can't bind to — and thus can't infect. Instead, patient Z258's blood contained immune proteins called antibodies that block the virus from infecting cells, and they can neutralize a whopping 98 percent of the de-clawed HIV virus strains the scientists generated in the lab. These antibodies could even block strains that other, similar antibodies were powerless against. Even though HIV was detectable in his blood and he wasn't being treated at the time, this patient had normal T cell levels after more than two decades of infection. The researchers named the antibody N6...

"Scientists have identified an antibody that neutralises 98% of HIV strains". The researchers tracked its evolution over time to see how it responded to the shape-shifting defences of the HIV virus, and found that it relied less on binding with parts of the virus that are prone to changing - known as the V5 region - and more on parts that change very little across different strains. By attaching to these more consistent parts of the virus, N6 is able to prevent HIV from attaching itself to a host's immune cells and attacking them - which is what makes HIV-positive people so vulnerable to AIDS.

"New Antibody Neutralizes 98% of HIV Strains". ...N6 evolved a unique mode of binding that depends less on a variable area of the HIV envelope known as the V5 region and focuses more on conserved regions, which change relatively little among HIV strains. This allows N6 to tolerate changes in the HIV envelope, including the attachment of sugars in the V5 region, a major mechanism by which HIV develops resistance to other VRC01-class antibodies.

one more - "New Antibody Neutralizes Nearly Every HIV Strain". The prior "record" for HIV neutralization was 90 percent. That came courtesy of an antibody known as VRC01, which is currently be assessed for clinical applications. The new antibody, known as N6, is so effective because of its targeting of a region (known as V5) found on the HIV viruses exterior envelope that is very often conserved across the pathogen's evolution—it remains constant, relatively. N6 has a couple of other advantages. One, it's particularly effective against HIV strains that have become resistant to antibodies in the same antibody class. Two (but very related to the above), it's structurally built to evade a common defensive mechanism wielded by the HIV virus called a steric clash J mareeswaran (talk) 10:12, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

J mareeswaran (talk) 10:20, 23 November 2016 (UTC)