Eliminating the latent HIV reservoir by reactivation strategies: Advancing to clinical trials

Abstract

Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has transformed HIV from a deadly to a chronic disease, but HIV patients are still burdened with excess morbidity and mortality, long-term toxicities from cART, stigmatization, and insufficient access to cART worldwide. Thus, a cure for HIV would have enormous impact on society as well as the individual. As the complexity and mechanisms of HIV persistence during therapy are being unraveled, new therapeutic targets for HIV eradication are discovered. Substances that activate HIV production in the latently infected cells have recently received much attention. By turning on expression of latent HIV proviruses, reactivation strategies could contribute to..