This week, a groundbreaking paper has been published in the journal Nature, that describes how a team of Carolina based scientists has developed an approach that overcomes a major hurdle preventing the establishment of a cure for HIV. Currently, antiretroviral therapy is prescribed to those with HIV.
It has the impact of suppressing HIV levels in the blood. However, the virus continues to exist in latently infected resting CD4+ T cells. Presently, there are no therapies available to target these latently infected T cells, and the body’s own immune system cannot recognize them. The antiretroviral therapy must be taken continuously otherwise viral loads increase in the blood. The latent reservoir of infected T cells is thought of as being the major barrier to creating a cure.
