Targeting inflammasomes as a therapeutic potential for HIV/AIDS

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in humans can cause a variety of symptoms. Among these, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) remains the most severe form. Current treatment of HIV/AIDS with antiretroviral drugs effectively inhibits HIV replication and infection and significantly extends the lifespan of HIV/AIDS patients. However, antiretroviral drugs cannot completely remove HIV from patients due to the high latency of HIV, and they possess side effects and can lead to drug resistance. HIV/AIDS remains to be an incurable disease, and new methods and drugs are still desirable. Inflammasomes were found to be activated during HIV infection and regulate AIDS progression. Previous reviews provide a simple summary of inflammasome activators and inhibitors during HIV infection without distinguishing the specific infection stage, this kind of summary does not provide any clinical target value. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of inflammasomes in HIV/AIDS according to the infection timeline and propose several inflammasome target strategies for clinical HIV/AIDS treatment. We systematacially summarized the activation and function of kinds inflammasomes during the different HIV infection stages, with the aim of providing new therapeutic targets and directions for HIV/AIDS and HIV-associated comorbidities.