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Review
. 2009 Nov;9(11):1369-82.
doi: 10.1517/14712590903257781.

Novel HIV-1 therapeutics through targeting altered host cell pathways

William Coley  1 , Kylene Kehn-Hall, Rachel Van Duyne, Fatah Kashanchi
Affiliations
Review

Novel HIV-1 therapeutics through targeting altered host cell pathways

William Coley et al. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2009 Nov.

Abstract

The emergence of drug-resistant HIV-1 strains presents a challenge for the design of new drugs. Anti-HIV compounds currently in use are the subject of advanced clinical trials using either HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, viral protease or integrase inhibitors. Recent studies show an increase in the number of HIV-1 variants resistant to anti-retroviral agents in newly infected individuals. Targeting host cell factors involved in the regulation of HIV-1 replication might be one way to combat HIV-1 resistance to the currently available anti-viral agents. A specific inhibition of HIV-1 gene expression could be expected from the development of compounds targeting host cell factors that participate in the activation of the HIV-1 LTR promoter. Here we discuss how targeting the host can be accomplished either by using small molecules to alter the function of the host's proteins such as p53 or cdk9, or by utilizing new advances in siRNA therapies to knock down essential host factors such as CCR5 and CXCR4. Finally, we will discuss how the viral protein interactomes should be used to better design therapeutics against HIV-1.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
HIV-1 transcription can be blocked by targeting host factors. The p53 pathway is known to be suppressed by HIV-1 and its reactivation can inhibit the replication of HIV-1. This is evident by upregulation of p21/waf1 in 9AA treated cells. Similarly, viral transcription requires the host’s cdk2 and cdk9 enzymes. Inhibiting these cdks using ATP analogs can halt viral transcription without killing the host cell. Additionally, HIV-1 possesses the ability to suppress RNAi in host cells. Although the overall downstream consequences are still being investigated, siRNAs can be directed against host factors that are essential to viral replication.
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