Hope for shot? Structure of HIV protein unveiled

In a breakthrough which may pave the way for a vaccine against AIDS, scientists have provided what they claim is the first-ever glimpse of the structure of a key protein, gp120, found on surface of a subgroup of HIV-1.

In addition, the scientists from California Institute of Technology demonstrated that a particular antibody to gp120 makes contact not only with the protein, but with CD4 receptor that gp120 uses to gain entrance into the body's T cells.