Category: Latency reversing agents
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In addition to studies covered in prior posts (a possible second pediatric cure case, Sangamo’s gene therapy and limitations of latency-reversing agents), CROI 2014 featured a smorgasbord of presentations related to pathogenesis and cure research. Webcasts of all conference sessions are online, and many posters are now available in PDF format. Brief summaries of some notable studies are…
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The persistence of a latent form of HIV integrated into the genome of long-lived cells, particularly memory CD4 T cells, is considered the most significant barrier to curing the infection. A key element of cure research is the pursuit of strategies capable of inducing latent HIV to replicate, with the aim of causing the death…
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At a symposium on cure research held prior to the International AIDS Conference in 2012, Robert Siliciano presented new data suggesting that the amount of replication-competent latent HIV that persists in the face of antiretroviral therapy (ART) may be greater than previously appreciated (the video and powerpoint from Siliciano’s talk are available on the symposium…
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The 7th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013) took place from June 30-July 3 in Kuala Lumpur and featured a pre-conference symposium and several sessions on HIV cure research. Webcasts and powerpoints of at least some presentations are being made available on the conference website (see links below). The…
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The April issue of Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics features an excellent open access review by Thomas Rasmussen and colleagues describing approaches to eliminating HIV reservoirs that are advancing into clinical trials. Prominently featured are histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, which have emerged as lead candidates for liberating latent HIV from cellular lockdown. The paper offers detailed…
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This past Wednesday in the journal Nature, Nancy Archin and colleagues from the laboratory of David Margolis published results from a trial investigating whether the approved cancer drug vorinostat can reverse HIV latency. Vorinostat (also known as SAHA, trade name Zolinza) belongs to a group of compounds called histone deacetlyase (HDAC) inhibitors. Histone deacetylases are…
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The Keystone Symposia conference “Frontiers in HIV Pathogenesis, Therapy and Eradication” is taking place this week in Whistler, Canada. A poster presentation at the meeting by Jana Blazkova from the laboratory of Anthony Fauci at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (abstract #108) seems likely to place a proverbial cat among the pigeons…
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The 19th annual Conference on Retroviruses & Opportunistic Infections (CROI) took place last week from Monday through Thursday in Seattle. As has consistently been the case in recent years, the organizers have done a commendable job in making the conference accessible online: all sessions—including poster discussions—are available via webcast, and very few presenters have failed to make…
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Inaugurated in 2003, the bi-annual International Workshop on HIV Persistence during Therapy (aka “the persistence workshop”) is the brainchild of researcher Alain Lafeuillade. The meeting presaged the recent explosion of interest in pursuing a cure for HIV infection, a pursuit many had considered quixotic until the case of Timothy Brown came to light in 2008.…
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Back in October 2009, Bob Siliciano’s laboratory at Johns Hopkins described a new in vitro system for screening drugs with the potential to reverse HIV latency. At the time of that publication, only one such compound had been identified using the screen, 5HN, which was too toxic to be considered for clinical evaluation. In a new…