Efforts to eliminate the latent reservoir in resting CD4+ T cells: strategies for curing HIV-1 infection

Abstract

Since the introduction of the first antiretroviral drug, zidovudine, in 1987, over 25 different antiretroviral agents from six different drug classes have been approved for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. Today, combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) is extremely effective in suppressing HIV-1 replication, providing durable control of the virus in adherent patients. However, despite the effectiveness of ART in blocking viral replication, HIV-1 infection cannot be cured by ART alone because HIV-1 establishes a state of latent infection in a small pool of resting, memory CD4+ T cells. Some new developments in the search for a cure are discussed.

Keywords

• HIV-1
• resting
• memory CD4+ T cells
• latent reservoir
• cure