Gene Therapy Targeting HIV Entry

Abstract

Despite the unquestionable success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the treatment of HIV infection, the cost, need for daily adherence, and HIV-associated morbidities that persist despite ART all underscore the need to develop a cure for HIV. The cure achieved following an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) using HIV-resistant cells, and more recently, the report of short-term but sustained, ART-free control of HIV replication following allogeneic HSCT, using HIV susceptible cells, have served to both reignite interest in HIV cure research, and suggest potential mechanisms for a cure. In this review, we highlight some of the obstacles facing HIV cure research today, and explore the roles of gene therapy targeting HIV entry, and allogeneic stem cell transplantation in the development of strategies to cure HIV infection.

The Research Progress of the Fuctional Cure of AIDS

“…CCR5 is an ideal target for Studies have indicated that the CCRT antagonist combined with HAART treatment can shrink the latent virus [28] , but whether will it apply to the large sample. that needs further study cannot clear it [29,30] .…”

Personalized gene therapy locks out HIV, paving the way to control virus without antiretroviral drugs

“…Although CCR5 is the primary co-receptor for HIV, CXCR4-tropic strains are often found at low levels in chronically infected individuals and advanced stage HIV infection [76,77], and the outgrowth of CXCR4-tropic strains or the evolution of tropism-switching viruses after treatment with CCR5-modified cells is a concern. To address this, gene editing of CXCR4 as an alternative, or in conjunction to, CCR5 has also been explored.…”

Gene Therapy for HIV-1 Infection

“…Approaches that modify autologous cells to make them resistant to HIV-1 have been favored [141,247,248]. Gene-based prophylactic or therapeutic immunostimulations are discussed in Chapter 11, and clinical trials aimed at direct HIV-1 treatment are considered here.…”