An update on current HIV treatments

Abstract

The roll-out of antiretroviral therapies (ART) has greatly assisted in reducing the morbidity and mortality rates caused by HIV. However, ART is incapable of eliminating the latent Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), leading to life-long treatment being undertaken. Current HIV cures can be classified into the sterilizing cure, where the HIV latent reservoir is fully eliminated, or the functional cure, where prolonged suppression of latent HIV is achieved. Broadly Neutralizing Antibody (bNAb) is a type of sterilizing cure which targets an epitope on HIV Envelope (Env) protein. Studies indicated that a combined bNAb regiment is better than bNAb monotherapy due to the ability to avoid HIV escape variants. Another type of sterilizing cure is known as “shock and kill” strategy, comprising a latency-reversing agent which activates latent HIV and eliminates it with a “kill” agent. Alternatively, functional cure such as the “Block and lock” strategy utilizes a latency-promoting agent to “block” viral transcription and prevent it from being activated for a prolonged period. Further research and clinical tests are required to develop an HIV cure.