Clinical and experimental treatment of residual immune activation in people living with HIV

Potent inflammatory responses stemming from innate and T cell activation are initiated during acute human immunodeficiency virus infection. Suppression of the virus replication by antiretroviral therapy reduces but does not normalize immune activation. By now, it is clear that residual immune activation can persist even after years of antiretroviral therapy and associates with increased risks for co-morbidities, thereby raising interest for strategies that can resolve the residual immune activation in people with human immunodeficiency virus on antiretrovirals. This brief review reports the human studies with various drugs with anti-inflammatory properties and their effects on measures of systemic immune activation on people with human immunodeficiency virus. Along with the possible reasons for conflicting outcomes, considerations for ongoing and future approaches are outlined.