The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases scientists have published an atomic-level image in Nature (journal) showing the b12 antibody attacking part of the protein on the surface of the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The team believes that the work could aid HIV vaccine development.

Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), said that "creating an HIV vaccine is one of the great scientific challenges of our time." He added that the NIH researches have revealed a gap in HIV's armor, opening an avenue to meet this challenge. HIV is a retrovirus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening infections.

HIV avoids detection by the immune system by rapid mutation. It is also swathed by a near-impenetrable cloak of sugary molecules which block access by antibodies. But in order to continue binding to and entering human cells, certain parts of the virus must remain relatively unchanged.

A protein called gp120 that juts out of the surface of the virus and binds to receptors on host cells, is one such part. The gp120 has been a target for finding a vaccine for HIV. NIH's latest study has revealed an image of the b12 antibody docking with the gp120 protein.

The b12 antibody seem to be able to fight HIV with a degree of success. Previous blood analysis of the people who were able to hold the AIDS virus at bay for prolonged periods of time were shown to possess this rare group of antibodies.

Researchers believe that revealing the possibility of the b12 antibody attacking the gp120 protein in the surface of HIV is one of the best leads to come along in the recent years of finding a vaccine for AIDS. Their next challenge is to develop vaccine products that could be tested on humans.