Vexing Virus Shields

Around 36 million people worldwide have HIV. Scientists are trying to develop an HIV vaccine using antibodies, molecules our bodies make to target and tag invading particles. Researchers have found that rabbits exposed to a strain of HIV produce antibodies targeting a specific part of the virus: a hole in its glycan shield. This shield consists of sugar molecules attached to the outside of the virus, protecting it from attack – the hole is thus a gap in its defences. However, although most HIV strains have a hole in their glycan shields, not many strains have one in the same position as was identified, so different antibodies would need to be developed. The image shows how much certain parts of the glycan shield are conserved between different HIV strains – red being 90–100%, and green 50–60%. This is a step towards vaccines, but the shield remains a challenge in vaccine development.

Written by Esther Redhouse White

Esther Redhouse White

Writer

A recent Biochemistry graduate from York, Esther has worked on bacterial killing proteins and genetic switches in worms. In her spare time she likes visiting museums full of skeletons.

• Image by Sergey Menis, Laura McCoy and James Voss
• The Scripps Research Institute, USA and University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Image copyright held by original authors
• Research published in Cell Reports, August 2016