Novel gene and cellular therapy approaches for treating HIV

Advances in HIV drug therapy have drastically decreased mortality and significantly improved quality of life for HIV infected patients since the early days of the epidemic. However, HIV drug-resistance, drug toxicities, therapy adherence, and the need for life-long treatment remain major challenges that continue to contribute to HIV-related global health concerns. Recent advances in cancer immunotherapy have proven the potency of cellular gene therapies. An ever-growing toolbox of methods of gene manipulation, cell modification, and clinical cell manufacturing, will enable moving beyond continuous drug therapy for more effective and durable treatments, including the possibility of inducing permanent resistance to HIV. These approaches, which target both host and viral factors, capitalize on points of vulnerability in the virus life cycle. Cellular and gene therapy has the potential to be an effective one-time therapy with less toxicity. Here, we review several promising strategies currently in pre-clinical development and clinical trials.