Smac mimetic combined with eCD4-Ig reverses latency without reducing SHIV reservoirs in rhesus macaques - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #HIV
- #Shock and kill
- #Latency reversal
- Smac mimetic combined with eCD4-Ig reverses latency but does not reduce SHIV reservoirs in rhesus macaques.
- Current 'shock and kill' approaches aim to reactivate latent virus and eliminate infected cells but have not shown significant reservoir reduction in vivo.
- The study used ciapavir (a Smac mimetic) and AAV-delivered eCD4-Ig in ART-suppressed, SHIV-infected rhesus macaques.
- Smac mimetic induced modest reactivation of latent SHIV, evidenced by transient plasma viremia increases.
- AAV-expressed eCD4-Ig provided partial protection against SHIV challenge in uninfected animals but did not reduce viral reservoirs in infected ones.
- No significant differences in viral rebound kinetics were observed post-treatment interruption in treated animals versus controls.
- Repeated ciapavir dosing caused adverse effects in some animals, indicating potential toxicity.
- The findings underscore challenges in reducing viral reservoirs with this approach and suggest the need for further optimization.