Combinatorial Use of Both Epigenetic and Non-Epigenetic Mechanisms to Efficiently Reactivate HIV Latency

Joseph Hokello1, Adhikarimayum Lakhikumar Sharma2, Mudit Tyagi2

  • 1Department of Basic Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Kampala International University-Western Campus, Bushenyi P.O. Box 71, Uganda.

The persistence of latent HIV provirus pools in different resting CD4+ cell subsets remains the greatest obstacle in the current efforts to treat and cure HIV infection. Recent efforts to purge out latently infected memory CD4+ T-cells using latency-reversing agents have failed in clinical trials. This review discusses the epigenetic and non-epigenetic mechanisms of HIV latency control, major limitations of the current approaches of using latency-reversing agents to reactivate HIV latency in resting CD4+ T-cells, and potential solutions to these limitations.

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