Naslov
Modeling the Timing of Antilatency Drug Administration during HIV Treatment

Autori
Petravic, J. ; Martyushev, A. ; Reece, J. C. ; Kent, S. J. ; Davenport, M. P.

Izvornik
Journal of Virology (0022-538X) 88 (2014), 24; 14050-14056

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, ostalo

Ključne riječi
HIV latency ; latency-reversing agents

Sažetak
Latently infected cells are considered a major barrier to the cure of HIV infection, since they are long-lived under antiretroviral therapy (ART) and cause viral replication to restart soon after stopping ART. In the last decade, different types of antilatency drugs have been explored with the aim of reactivating and purging this latent reservoir and the hope of achieving a cure. Because of toxicity and safety considerations, antilatency drugs can only be given for a short time to patients on long-term ART, with little effect. We recently investigated the turnover of latently infected cells during active infection and have found that it was strongly correlated with viral load. This implies that although latently infected cells had long life spans in a setting of a low viral load (such as during ART), they turned over quickly under a high viral load. Possible reasons for this could be that an increased viral load causes increased activation or death of CD4+ T cells, including those that are latently infected. Taking these results into account, we developed a mathematical model to study the most appropriate timing of antilatency drugs in relationship to the initiation of ART.We found that the best timing of a short-term antilatency drug would be the start of ART, when viral load, CD4+ T cell activation, and latent cell turnover are all high. These results have important implications for the design of HIV cure- related clinical trials.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Matematika, Biologija

POVEZANOST RADA