Inhibition of HIV/SIV replication by dominant negative Gag mutants

There are several major strategies against HIV/AIDS. Of these, the gene therapy is a novel, challenging, and promising one. The target genes, which have been extensively studied for the potential gene therapy of HIV/AIDS, include those of cellular and viral origins. Especially, trans-dominant negative Tat, Rev, Env, Pol, and Gag mutants of HIV have currently attracted considerable attention. In this brief review, we summarize the nature of the HIV/SIV mutants of this category and discuss their future use for gene therapy with special reference to the dominant negative Gag mutants of HIV-1.