Breast Milk antibodies help neutralise HIV

Thanks to -  The Times of India - health

Antibodies isolated from infected mother’s  breast milk can inhibit the virus that causes AIDS, says a new discovery. HIV-1 can be transmitted from mother to child via breastfeeding, posing a challenge for safe infant feeding practices in areas of high HIV-1 prevalence. But only one in 10 HIV-infected nursing mothers is known to pass the virus to their infants.

“That is remarkable, because nursing children are exposed multiple times each day during their first years of life, We are asking if there is an immune response that protects 90 percent of infants, and could we harness that response to develop immune system prophylaxis  (protection) during breastfeeding  for mothers infected with HIV-1” said Permar.

“Our work helped establish that these B-cells in breast milk can produce HIV-neutralising antibodies, so enhancing the response or getting more mucosal B-cells to produce those helpful antibodies would be useful, and this is a possible route to explore for HIV-1 vaccine development”, Permar added. The antibodies isolated are the first HIV antibodies isolated from breast milk that react with the HIV-1 envelope, and it is important to understand how they work to attack HIV-1.