Targeted Nanocarrier Delivery of RNA Therapeutics to Control HIV Infection

Our understanding of HIV infection has greatly advanced since the discovery of the virus in 1983. Treatment options have improved the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS, turning it from a fatal disease into a chronic, manageable infection. Despite all this progress, a cure remains elusive. A major barrier to attaining an HIV cure is the presence of the latent viral reservoir, which is established early in infection and persists for the lifetime of the host, even during prolonged anti-viral therapy. Different cure strategies are currently being explored to eliminate or suppress this reservoir. Several studies have shown that a functional cure may be achieved by preventing infection and also inhibiting reactivation of the virus from the latent reservoir. Here, we briefly describe the main HIV cure strategies, focussing on the use of RNA therapeutics, including small interfering RNA (siRNA) to maintain HIV permanently in a state of super latency, and CRISPR gRNA to excise the latent reservoir. A challenge with progressing RNA therapeutics to the clinic is achieving effective delivery into the host cell. This review covers recent nanotechnological strategies for siRNA delivery using liposomes, N-acetylgalactosamine conjugation, inorganic nanoparticles and polymer-based nanocapsules. We further discuss the opportunities and challenges of those strategies for HIV treatment.