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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Isolation of Exosomes from the Plasma of HIV-1 Positive Individuals
Published on: January 5, 2016
Evaluation of the anti-HIV activity of statins
Gemma Moncunill1, Eugenia Negredo, Lluís Bosch
1Retrovirology Laboratory IrsiCaixa and HIV Unit, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, 08916 Badalona, Spain.
Abstract:
Recent data suggest that statins block HIV-1 replication, which may have important implications for an alternative treatment for AIDS. We tested different statins in cell culture against HIV and conducted a pilot study in HIV-positive patients receiving simvastatin. No anti-HIV activity was detected at subtoxic concentrations and simvastatin did not induce a significant change in the mean viral load or CD4 cell count in study patients. We caution on the use of statins as antiretroviral agents.

