Novel peptide-based HIV-1 immunotherapy

Therapeutic immunisation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected individuals should be actively pursued in the first instance to augment highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens. Peptide-based immunotherapeutic strategies offer considerable advantages over conventional approaches, particularly regarding safety. Peptide design itself is becoming increasingly sophisticated, with the rapid evolution of bioinformatics tools that can analyse not only T cell epitopes, but also their potential for successful presentation on diverse human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I or II following intracellular processing by antigen-presenting cells (APCs). By targeting conserved viral domains, peptides acquire improved reactivity to diverse viral strains. Dendritic cells represent a powerful route of administration, as they are the most potent APCs and can present exogenous peptides on both HLA class I and II through the process of cross-presentation. In this way, soluble peptides can thereby stimulate both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.