Developing an experimental AIDS vaccine using frozen HIV virus

¶ … vaccination process is one that dates back as far as the 1700's; the process took place using a needle that was inserted in a smallpox blister that had ruptured and then that same needle would be inserted under the skin of an uninfected individual (Okonek & Peters, p.1). This process did not have a high success rate, but there were instances when this process did prove to be effective at protecting against smallpox outbreaks. In order to understand how a vaccine works one should know some basic terminology. The disease causing organisms contain proteins called "antigens" which stimulate the immune response. The resulting response is the production of "antibodies." These proteins bind to the disease causing organisms and lead to their eventual destruction. In addition, during the immune response "memory cells" are created, these cells remain in one's blood stream and keep the body from contracting the disease (Okonek & Peters, p.2).

An important fact to consider when attempting to create a vaccine for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the importance of being able to have the body create antibodies. Researchers have revealed details of the first experimental Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) vaccine that actually produces antibodies that attack and kill the kinds of HIV found in humans (BBC Online Network [BBCON], p.1). This breakthrough vaccine was developed by freezing the HIV virus in the act of breaking into a cell.