One strategy to eliminate latently infected cells that persist in people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy is to activate virus transcription and virus production to induce virus or immune-mediated cell death. This is called latency reversal. Despite clear activity of multiple latency reversal agents in vitro, clinical trials of latency-reversing agents have not shown significant reduction in latently infected cells. We review new insights into the biology of HIV latency and discuss novel approaches to enhance the efficacy of latency reversal agents.

Three early-career female virologists sat down with a distinguished Nobel laureate to discuss two pandemics, 39 years apart [...]