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Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Interview: HIV-1 Proviral DNA Excision Using an Evolved Recombinase
Published on: June 16, 2008
[Towards eradication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)?]
Abstract:
Antiretroviral therapy has led to massive improvement in the prognosis of HIV-infected patients. In France, more than 80% of patients have suppressed HIV viremia and prolonged survival. However, current antiretroviral strategies are unable to eradicate HIV, and treatment therefore has to be maintained for life, raising issues of long-term toxicity, comorbidities, resistance, and cost. Several factors explain our inability to eradicate HIV including viral latency in long-lived memory T cells, the persistence of immune activation despite suppression of viral replication in plasma, and persistent low-level viral replication in different compartments. Various international research strategies are currently addressing these issues with the ultimate aim of finding a cure.
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