HIV Persistence, Latency, and Cure Approaches: Where Are We Now?

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Immunology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• The latent reservoir of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a primary obstacle to achieving a cure.
• Antiretroviral therapy (ART) effectively suppresses viral replication but cannot eliminate latently infected cells.
• These latent reservoirs can lead to viral rebound upon cessation of ART.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of HIV latency mechanisms and challenges.
• To discuss small animal models for studying HIV latency.
• To review contemporary and combination approaches for an HIV cure.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on HIV latency.
• Analysis of mechanisms governing establishment and maintenance of HIV latency.
• Evaluation of current and emerging HIV cure strategies.

Main Results:

• Identified key mechanisms of HIV latency establishment and maintenance.
• Highlighted challenges posed by latent reservoirs in HIV cure efforts.
• Summarized various small animal models used in HIV latency research.

Conclusions:

• Understanding HIV latency is crucial for developing effective cure strategies.
• Combination approaches are being explored to target and eliminate latent reservoirs.
• The goal is to achieve a safe, scalable, and widely applicable HIV cure.