Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered new information about how human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency (AIDS), possibly evades eradication from the body.
In a study published in the “Journal of Virology”, NCI HIV and AIDS Malignancy Branch scientists identified several possible gene targets and two drugs to flush out long-lasting HIV reservoirs that current treatments do not affect. They also established a connection between HIV and several other genes not previously associated with the virus and found new possible targets for blocking HIV replication.
Current AIDS drugs, called antiretrovirals, target HIV replication. However, these drugs cannot completely eradicate the virus from the body because HIV rests in some cells in a non-replicating stage called latent infection. The gene targets uncovered by the NCI researchers may be used to activate HIV within these cells, inducing its replication and thereby making the virus more vulnerable to treatment.
“The persistence of latent HIV reservoirs is one of the main barriers to the eradication of HIV infection,” said principal investigator Steven Zeichner, M.D., PhD. “Our studies show that agents targeting specific genes can be used to force HIV out of latency. In a clinical setting, forcing HIV out of latency while maintaining good control of HIV replication using antiretroviral drugs may reduce or eliminate these reservoirs.”