Researchers have identified an antibody that apparently prevents HIV-positive mothers from passing the virus to their children. Publishing their findings in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers analyzed data from a 1990s study of HIV-positive pregnant women that predated the use of antiretrovirals to prevent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of the virus.

The researchers found that the women whose babies did not acquire the virus had a strong antibody response to the so-called V3 loop of the virus’s surface. Curiously, the V3 loop has been considered too variable and inaccessible to be a promising target for a neutralizing antibody that a vaccine might prompt.

The investigators hope further research may lead to the development of a vaccine to prevent MTCT of HIV.

To read a press release on the study, click here.

To read the study, click here.