Developing Combined HIV Vaccine Strategies for a Functional Cure

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Virology
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Antiretroviral drugs control HIV replication but do not eliminate the virus.
• A functional cure for HIV, involving natural viral control without drugs, remains a critical goal.
• Persistent latent proviral reservoirs are the primary barrier to HIV eradication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current strategies for combining therapeutic HIV vaccines with anti-latency agents.
• To explore the potential of these agents to act as adjuvants for vaccine-induced immune responses.
• To discuss novel in vitro assays for assessing the efficacy of therapeutic vaccines against HIV reservoirs.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing clinical trials and research on therapeutic HIV vaccines.
• Analysis of studies investigating latency-reversing agents in the context of HIV treatment.
• Exploration of emerging in vitro methodologies for evaluating immune-mediated killing of HIV-infected cells.

Main Results:

• Therapeutic vaccines have been evaluated for two decades, yielding significant insights.
• Anti-latency agents are being tested to reactivate latent HIV reservoirs in treated individuals.
• Combining vaccines with anti-latency agents shows promise for controlling or eradicating reactivated cells.

Conclusions:

• Combining therapeutic HIV vaccines with anti-latency agents represents a promising strategy towards a functional cure.
• Anti-latency agents may enhance vaccine efficacy by boosting immune responses against reactivated HIV.
• Development of new assays is crucial for accurately measuring the effectiveness of these combination approaches.