Rupali Saxena, Gourav Mishra, Batul Diwan and Archana Tiwari
Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS was first recognized in the early 1980’s. Although, with the use of antiretroviral medication, the life expectancy of an HIV infected patient can be elongated temporarily, but there is neither a known cure nor a vaccine for AIDS. This paper reviews the approaches undertaken in developing a preventive mechanism against HIV. Animal models were selected for HIV-1 vaccine development and strategies were developed where isolates of HIV-1 were taken from patients and injected in chimpanzees, but these failed to prove as a hope. Subsequently epitope driven vaccines that target the global variability of HIV was introduced. To serve this purpose computer driven methods for increasing the efficiency of vaccines like Epi-Assembler and Vaccine CAD were developed. Inducing production of broadly reactive and neutralizing antibodies could also potentially counteract HIV-1 diversity. HIV-1 Virus like Particles (VLPs) consists of viral gag proteins that self-assemble into particular structures analogous in size and morphology to immature HIV-1 particles. As a non-infectious, replication - deficient particles, the VLPs are much safer compared to traditional vaccines.