艾滋病疫苗研究取得可喜成果

Researchers are closer than ever to finding a vaccine that prevents AIDS. That’s what Gary Nabel told us. He’s director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Maryland. He said the AIDS virus, also known as HIV, has been so difficult to stop because it mutates at a dizzying rate.

近日一项研究成果给艾滋病疫苗的研制带来了前所未有的希望。马里兰州国立过敏与传染病研究中心主任加里·纳贝尔接受本站记者采访时如是说。他表示，艾滋病毒，即人体免疫缺陷病毒非常难以防控，因为它的突变速度快得惊人。

Gary Nabel : There are millions and millions of strains of the AIDS virus. The AIDS virus is remarkable for their repeatity, with which it can change its genetic structure.

加里·纳贝尔:艾滋病毒的变体多达千百万种，它的复制速度极快，并且可以在复制过程中改变遗传结构。

He said most people infected with the AIDS virus mount an immune defense – that is, produce antibodies – that knock out only a few strains of the AIDS virus. But, in July 2010, Dr. Nabel reported in the journal Science that his team had identified several rare, broad-acting antibodies, the most powerful of which could attack or neutralize 90% of strains. These antibodies were found in the blood of a patient living with AIDS, known as Donor 45.

纳贝尔博士表示，大多数感染者体内免疫反应产生的抗体只能对付部分病毒变体。但是，2010年7月，他在《科学》杂志上发表报告称，其研究小组已发现几种效果更强的稀有抗体，其中最强的抗体能攻击或中和90%的病毒变体。这些抗体来源于“45号捐献者”，该捐献者是一名艾滋病毒携带者。

Gary Nabel Knowing that a human is capable of making those antibodies really gives us some optimism.

加里·纳贝尔：人体实际上能产生艾滋病毒强效抗体，这一发现着实给我们带来了一些希望。

He explained that powerful antibodies can serve as a kind of template to build a vaccine around. Nabel estimated that a publicly available AIDS vaccine is still at least 10 years away.

他告诉记者，以这些抗体为模板，科学家能研制出艾滋病疫苗。预计这种疫苗问世、普及至少还需要10年时间。

Gary Nabel: For an AIDS vaccine for many years we’ve been driving around in the dark without a map, and I now I think we’ve got some very sophisticated tools that give us direction.

加里·纳贝尔:多年来，在艾滋病疫苗研制领域，我们都是在黑暗中摸索。如今，我认为我们已经掌握非常有效的尖端工具来攻克这一障碍。