title: Multifarious immunotherapeutic approaches to cure HIV-1 infection.
abstract: Immunotherapy in the context of treated HIV-1 infection aims to improve immune responses to achieve better control of the virus. To date, multifaceted immunotherapeutic approaches have been shown to reduce immune activation and increase CD4 T-lymphocyte counts, further to the effects of antiretroviral therapy alone, in addition to improving HIV-1-specific T-cell responses. While sterilizing cure of HIV-1 would involve elimination of all replication-competent virus, a functional cure in which the host has long-lasting control of viral replication may be more feasible. In this commentary, we discuss novel strategies aimed at targeting the latent viral reservoir with cure of HIV-1 infection being the ultimate goal, an achievement that would have considerable impact on worldwide HIV-1 infection.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medicine ; Imperial College London ; London , UK.
authors.forename: Nesrina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Imami
authors.forename: Anna A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Herasimtschuk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017735:Virus Latency; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents
keywords: HIV-1; T-cell responses; antiretroviral therapy; functional cure; immunotherapy; retroviral persistence; therapeutic vaccines