A class of antibodies may provide a good route for vaccinating against HIV, researchers say.
The ADCC antibodies have already been tested in vaccine trials – with some limited success.
But now researchers in Australia say they have evidence that the antibodies could be used to "harass" the virus.
ADCC stands for antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.
The study, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that the virus evolves to evade the antibodies.
Researchers at Melbourne University studied blood samples from patients infected with HIV. They found they were making ADCC antibodies against the virus, which then evolved to escape them.
Researcher Professor Stephen Kent said the process of mutation "weakened" the virus – suggesting that ADCC could help combat infection.
He said: "These results show what a slippery customer the HIV virus is, but also shows that these ADCC antibodies are really forcing the virus into changing, in ways that cause it to be weaker.
"It also implies that if good ADCC antibodies were available prior to infection, via a vaccine, we might be able to stop the virus taking hold. This is the holy grail."
Fellow researcher Dr Ivan Stratov said: "There is an urgent need to identify effective immunity to HIV and our studies suggest ADCC responses supply significant immune pressure on the virus."
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