(Image Source: The Wall Street Journal)

BY SARAH NG

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

HIV, the virus which causes aids, came to humans from chimps. Now, the cure might come from rhesus monkeys. New studies show huge breakthroughs against the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus or SIV, the monkey version of HIV.

CNN has more.

“Researchers have started manufacturing a new vaccine against HIV for human trials after finding success with an experimental vaccine in monkeys. Two studies published today in the journal Nature detail the success against an HIV-like virus. The vaccines dramatically reduce not only the chance of infection but also the amount of virus infected monkeys had in their blood.”

Sound too good to be true? Maybe not. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases praises the study to NPR, saying while some HIV studies use the same virus to infect the monkey as they used to vaccinate it, this one is even more thorough.
 

“The new study is more of a real-world test of a vaccine, because people are likely to encounter viruses that are not genetically identical to the ones used in the vaccine. Another stand-out aspect of the new study ... is that it nails down what sort of immune response an AIDS vaccine will need to prevent infection.”

The researchers say the vaccine will have to pull double duty -- preventing infection the best it can and holding the virus back if infection does occur. By meticulously testing the monkey’s immune responses, they found a promising way to do just that. Nature explains.

“...the researchers analysed dozens of characteristics of the monkeys' immune responses. The animals that produced high levels of antibodies that attach to the 'envelope' protein that surrounds the virus were most impervious to infection. ...Other groups hoping to develop HIV vaccines will pay close attention to the findings.”

In 2009, a human vaccine was tested in Thailand that used a similar trick -- teaching the immune system to attack the virus’s shell. That vaccine cut HIV infection by nearly a third. Combined with the new studies, they make a strong case for that particular approach.

But while the new results are exciting, The Wall Street Journal cautions it’s still too early to declare victory.

“While monkey models are considered highly reliable in HIV research and the findings resemble those of the Thai trial in humans, HIV researchers cautioned that it won't be known whether these vaccines work in humans until they are tried.”

Tests for the human version of the vaccine are already in the works. The trials are planned for the U.S., East Africa, South Africa and Thailand.