January 10, 2014

NIH-Created Toxin Can Kill HIV-Infected Cells that Persist Despite Treatment



Approach Could Potentially Be Part of Future HIV Cure Strategy

WHAT:
A team including University of North Carolina and NIH scientists has demonstrated in a mouse model that an HIV-specific poison can kill cells in which the virus is actively reproducing despite antiretroviral therapy. According to the researchers, such a targeted poison could complement antiretroviral therapy, which dramatically reduces the replication of HIV in infected cells but does not eliminate them.