Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a well-established treatment for HIV infection that suppresses viral replication by inhibiting viral enzymatic activity, thereby preventing progression to immunodeficiency. However, discontinuation of ART typically leads to rapid viral rebound within weeks, due to the reactivation of latent HIV from long-lived reservoirs such as resting CD4+ T cells. Eradication of these latent reservoirs is essential to achieve a cure for HIV. In 2009, the first case of HIV cure was reported: an individual with HIV and acute leukemia received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) from a donor homozygous for the CCR5Δ32 mutation, which results in the absence of the HIV coreceptor CCR5. After ART interruption, the patient maintained undetectable plasma viremia without viral rebound. Since then, a total of nine cases with similar post-transplant virological remission have been documented globally. This review summarizes the clinical characteristics of reported cases of HIV cure, outlines the shock-and-kill strategy targeting latent HIV reservoirs, and discusses the current progress in the development of therapies to cure HIV using latency-reversing agents (LRAs).
Kotaro Shirakawa (Wed,) studied this question.