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Sun 21 Nov, 2010 08:06 am
T20?
Context:
The findings suggest a new way of generating more useful anti-HIV antibodies. The intermediate stage of the protein normally lasts only about 15 minutes, too quickly to mount a successful immune response. For earlier work, the team leveraged the power of the first fusion-inhibiting antiviral drug, T20 (enfuviritide), approved for late-stage disease when other treatment options are failing. The drug traps the protein in the shape that spurs useful antibodies, the researchers reported in an earlier paper. In the latest study, the team further refined the protein for this study in a variation that does not require the drug. Additional biochemical experiments confirmed that two rare neutralizing antibodies from patients tackled the fleeting intermediate state of the experimental protein.
@oristarA,
The anti-viral drug T20 is approved for treatment of late-stage disease.