Microbicides: still a long road to success.
The development of efficient microbicides, the topically applied compounds that protect uninfected individuals from acquiring HIV-1, is a promising strategy to contain HIV-1 epidemics. Such microbicides should of course possess anti-HIV-1 activity, but they should also act against other genital pathogens, which facilitate HIV-1 transmission. The new trend in microbicide strategy is to use drugs currently used in HIV-1 therapy. The success of this strategy is mixed so far and is impaired by our limited knowledge of the basic mechanisms of HIV-1 transmission as well as by the inadequacy of the systems in which microbicides are tested in preclinical studies.
Eunice Kennedy-Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Christophe
C
Vanpouille
Anush
A
Arakelyan
Leonid
L
Margolis
D000287:Administration, Topical; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055808:Drug Discovery; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents