For some viral infections, such as HIV and HCV, there is still no vaccines. Now a study published in The Journal of Immunology may lead to the development of vaccines against these common and devastating diseases. The study, carried out by Daniel Pinschewer from the University of Basel researchers have unraveled why the immune defense of the host is inadequate to fight against chronic viral infections. When a virus infects a person or when a person gets a vaccine, B cells in the body begin to generate specific antibodies that can neutralize the pathogens. But when certain viruses like HIV and HCV infect the body, the production of antibody is not early enough and the quantity of antibody is inadequate. The reason for this issue is that these viral infections trigger severe inflammation. In most cases, a virus leads to inflammation at the beginning of its infection. But for HIV and some other viruses, infection can last for many years. Inflammation leads to the production of interferons, which in turn cause B cells to generate lots of antibodies. However, as time goes by, B cells cannot maintain the rapid production of antibodies because they quickly lose their ability to proliferate and die. Pinschewer thinks that this is a mechanism that the body uses to combat acute life-threatening infections. But since chronic infections can last for a long period of time, this mechanism cannot eliminate the viruses and may in fact help them establish infections. This mechanism may facilitate future vaccine development. CusAb offers polyclonal antibody for medical research.
