The first human clinical trials testing a new strategy to protect against HIV infections have yielded promising early results, according to two separate reports published on Thursday in Science.
The trials tested “germline targeting” HIV vaccines, which aim to activate immune system B cells in their naive, or germline, state, inducing them to become specialized cells that produce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs).
By delivering a variety of HIV immunogens – typically, viral protein fragments - germline vaccines train the B cells to produce antibodies that can recognize and block a broad range of different strains of HIV from infecting healthy cells.
Germline targeting requires an initial dose to prime the correct B cells, and subsequent doses to guide their maturation until they can produce effective bnAbs, the researchers reported.
"Across the participants we saw an immune response that indicates that we're on the right track,” Rogier Sanders of Amsterdam UMC, senior investigator on one of the trials, said in a statement.
“We saw that we can target the cells that we need to target with atomic precision. The next step is to further stimulate these cells to secrete broadly neutralizing antibodies," Sanders said.
In a separate paper, a different team of researchers reported on two early trials that used mRNA-encoded nanoparticles produced by Moderna to successfully prime the germline B cells, although a small proportion of patients had skin reactions to the vaccines.
The mRNA technology, similar to that used in Moderna's COVID-19 shots, would allow for faster vaccine development, the study authors said.
One of the trials was conducted in the United States and the other in Rwanda and South Africa. The majority of HIV patients live in Africa, but germline targeting has not previously been attempted there.
The researchers said the mRNA approach appeared to work with both North American and African populations, opening the door to further testing of germline-targeting vaccines for "African populations in most need of an HIV vaccine.”
EASING THERAPIES FOR SOME PROSTATE, CERVIX CANCERS
Two new studies suggest that patients with certain cancers might do just as well with a shorter course of radiation or a less extensive surgery as with standard treatments.
In JAMA Oncology, researchers reported that in men who require radiation after undergoing the most extensive type of surgery for prostate cancer, a form of high-dose radiation delivered in just five sessions known as stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) appears to be as safe as conventional treatment delivered daily for up to seven weeks.
SBRT is a well-established treatment for prostate cancer, but its use after a radical prostatectomy has been limited due to concerns about the shifting position of the prostate bed and nearby healthy tissues.
The researchers tracked 100 men treated with SBRT in the single-arm study. Two years after the treatment, outcomes and side effects were similar to what the researchers had seen in the past from patients who received the longer-course treatments.
If randomized studies and longer follow-up confirm the results, “this approach could remove a major barrier to post-surgery radiation therapy,” study leader Dr. Amar Kishan of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA said in a statement.
In JAMA Network Open, a separate team of researchers reported that women with low-risk early-stage cancer of the cervix do as well after simple hysterectomy as after modified radical hysterectomy or radical hysterectomy.
Among 2,636 carefully selected patients treated for stage IA2 or IB1 cervical carcinoma at accredited cancer hospitals, there was no difference in survival rates at 3 years, 5 years, 7 years or 10, or in postoperative outcomes after the three types of surgery.
Health Rounds: Novel approach to HIV vaccine shows early promise
https://arab.news/m3wcj
Health Rounds: Novel approach to HIV vaccine shows early promise
Blacklisted naphtha tanker from Russia enters Venezuelan waters while another diverts, ship data shows
- Under U.S. sanctions related to Russia, the ship has a different sanctions profile than Skipper, the tanker that was seized by the U.S. on December 10
HOUSTON: A tanker subject to U.S. sanctions carrying some 300,000 barrels of naphtha from Russia entered Venezuelan waters late on Thursday, while another began redirecting course in the Atlantic Ocean, ship tracking data showed, a reflection of diverging last-minute decisions by ship owners after President Donald Trump ordered a "blockade" of oil tankers under sanctions bound for the OPEC country earlier this week.
The move ramped up pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by targeting the country's main source of income and followed the seizure by the U.S. of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela earlier in December.
Vessels that were not subject to sanctions began setting sail on Wednesday from Venezuelan waters after a week's pause, helping drain the country's mounting crude stocks.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Trump's 'blockade' aims to halt sanctioned oil tankers to Venezuela
• Hyperion's sanctions profile differs from seized Skipper tanker
• Venezuela condemns US actions as violating international law
Gambia-flagged medium tanker Hyperion docked on Friday at Amuay Bay on Venezuela's western coast, according to LSEG ship tracking data. It loaded near Murmansk in Russia in late November.
Under U.S. sanctions related to Russia, the ship has a different sanctions profile than Skipper, the tanker that was seized by the U.S. on December 10.
The U.S. can only seize vessels outside of its jurisdiction, or vessels that aren't heading to or from the country, if Washington has placed them under sanctions for links to groups it designates as terrorist, said David Tannenbaum, a director at consulting firm Blackstone Compliance Services that specializes in sanctions and anti-money laundering compliance.
Skipper, formerly called the Adisa, was under sanctions for what the U.S. says was involvement in Iranian oil trading that generated revenue for Iranian groups it has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
With the Hyperion, though, sanctions were imposed to reduce Russian revenues from energy because of its war with Ukraine.
"The Hyperion doesn't have known ties to terrorism, and therefore unless they can prove it's subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S., Washington can't grab it extraterritorially," said Tannenbaum, who previously worked with the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions.
REDIRECTS AND U-TURNS
The Angola-flagged Agate, another medium tanker under sanctions that loaded in Russia and had been sailing toward the Caribbean, was seen redirecting on Friday, according to LSEG ship tracking. The vessel was pointing towards Africa, but had not yet signaled a new destination.
Oman-flagged Garnet, also under sanctions and loaded in Russia, continued on its track, signaling the Caribbean as its destination on Friday.
Benin-flagged tanker Boltaris, under sanctions and carrying some 300,000 barrels of Russian naphtha bound for Venezuela, made a U-turn earlier this month and was heading for Europe without having discharged, according to LSEG vessel monitoring data.
Two very large crude carriers not subject to sanctions set sail for China on Thursday from Venezuela, according to sources familiar with Venezuela's oil export operations, marking only the second and third tankers unrelated to Chevron to depart the country since the U.S. seized Skipper.
The American oil major, which has continued to ship Venezuelan crude under a U.S. authorization, exported a crude cargo on Thursday bound for the U.S., LSEG data showed.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said the U.S. was not concerned about the four vessels that sailed from Venezuela on Thursday, as those were not ships under sanctions.
"Sanctioned boats, we have the capabilities necessary to enforce our laws. We'll have a judicial order, we'll execute on those orders and there's nothing that will impede us from being able to do that," Rubio said.
Venezuela's government called Trump's blockade a "grotesque threat" in a statement on Tuesday, saying it violates international law, free commerce and the right of free navigation.
