title: RNA interference and HIV-1 infection.
abstract: Life-prolonging antiretroviral therapy remarkably reduces viral load, but it does not eradicate the virus. An important obstacle preventing virus clearance is the presence of latent virion reservoirs in the host. However, new promising antiviral approaches are emerging, and a number of host cell factors involved in the disease progression and control of HIV-1 replication have been recently discovered. For instance, the RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism, besides many functions conserved throughout evolution, works as a defence mechanism against noxious transcripts which may provide a new tool to block viral replication. The recent definition of basic RNAi mechanisms, as well as the discovery of micro RNAs (microRNAs) encoded by the host cell genome and by HIV-1, also suggest that RNAi may be involved in the control of HIV replication.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Science, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Isamu Barros
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Kanzaki
authors.forename: Socrates Souza
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ornelas
authors.forename: Enrique R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Argañaraz
mesh_terms: D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017735:Virus Latency; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012367:RNA, Viral