Therapy of HIV Infection: Current Approaches and Prospects

Abstract

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is the causative agent of one of the most dangerous human diseases - the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Over the past 30 years since the discovery of HIV-1, a number of antiviral drugs have been developed to suppress various stages of the HIV-1 life cycle. This approach has enables the suppression of virus replication in the body, which significantly prolongs the life of HIV patients. The main downside of the method is the development of viral resistance to many anti-HIV drugs, which requires the creation of new drugs effective against drug-resistant viral forms. Currently, several fundamentally new approaches to HIV-1 treatment are under development, including the use of neutralizing antibodies, genome editing, and blocking an integrated latent provirus. This review describes a traditional approach involving HIV-1 inhibitors as well as the prospects of other treatment options.

Keywords: HIV-1; antiviral therapy; genome editing; viral life cycle inhibitors.

Fig. 1

The life cycle (A) and genome structure (B) of HIV-

Fig. 2

Nucleoside and nucleotide HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The numbering corresponds to that of Table 1.

Fig. 3

Non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors

Fig. 4

HIV-1 protease inhibitors

Fig. 5

Other inhibitors of the HIV life cycle

Fig. 6

Enfuvirtide structure