Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

[More effective vaccines against AIDS with DNA supports]

A new way of vaccinating against AIDS has been invented: They've designed a DNA structure that's invisible to the immune system. Vaccines made with these structures have been tested in mice and found that immune cells that are raised against a vulnerable site of HIV are up to 10-fold higher compared to vaccines with conventional protein carriers.

In conventional vaccines, HIV proteins adhere to a protein support that mimics the virus. In this way, the immune system generates a series of antibodies that recognize different parts of these viral proteins. Often, however, some of the antibodies that are produced are not against HIV proteins, but against the proteins of the support. And this can weaken the effectiveness of the vaccine, especially in difficult pathogens such as HIV.

To avoid this problem, the research has developed DNA supports using the DNA-origami technique (technique of folding DNA strands into precise three-dimensional shapes). In fact, B cells—antibody-producing immune cells—do not produce an anti-DNA response.

DNA supports were designed to carry 60 copies of the HIV envelope protein. In tests in mice with human antibody genes, almost 60% of the B cells produced were against the HIV envelope protein. In contrast, in mice vaccinated with conventional protein support, only 20% of B cells were anti-HIV protein; among the rest, many were anti-support. In addition, two weeks after vaccination, adequate levels of B cells were detected in mice receiving DNA support, whereas no B cells were detected in mice receiving protein.

According to the researchers, this progress can open up new avenues not only for obtaining a vaccine against HIV, but also for other difficult pathogens, such as universal vaccines against the flu or the coronavirus. They believe that these “invisible” DNA supports can be an ideal tool for inducing a more effective immune system response.