Authors: Zora Melkova Prakash Shankaran Michaela Madlenakova Josef Bodor
Publish Date: 2016/10/05
Volume: 62, Issue: 1, Pages: 73-87
Abstract
HIV1 infection cannot be cured as it persists in latently infected cells that are targeted neither by the immune system nor by available therapeutic approaches Consequently a lifelong therapy suppressing only the actively replicating virus is necessary The latent reservoir has been defined and characterized in various experimental models and in human patients allowing research and development of approaches targeting individual steps critical for HIV1 latency establishment maintenance and reactivation However additional mechanisms and processes driving the remaining lowlevel HIV1 replication in the presence of the suppressive therapy still remain to be identified and targeted Current approaches toward HIV1 cure involve namely attempts to reactivate and purge HIV latently infected cells socalled “shock and kill” strategy as well as approaches involving gene therapy and/or gene editing and stem cell transplantation aiming at generation of cells resistant to HIV1 This review summarizes current views and concepts underlying different approaches aiming at functional or sterilizing cure of HIV1 infectionWe are grateful to Dr Ivan Hirsch for helpful discussions and comments The work of PS and MM was performed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for PhD degree at the First Medical Faculty Charles University The work was supported by the Grant Agency of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic – project No NT/141353
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