ISSN: 2471-9552
Daniel Popkin
Tanzania
Review Article
Can We Repurpose FDA-Approved Alefacept to Diminish the HIV Reservoir?
Author(s): Asifa Zaidi, Qinglai Meng and Daniel Popkin
Asifa Zaidi, Qinglai Meng and Daniel Popkin
Current anti-retroviral treatment (ART) for HIV is effective in maintaining HIV at undetectable levels. However, cessation of ART results in immediate and brisk rebound of viremia to high levels. This rebound is driven by an HIV reservoir mainly enriched in memory CD4+ T cells. In order to provide any form of functional HIV Cure, elimination of this viral reservoir has become the focus of current HIV cure strategies. Alefacept was initially developed for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. Alefacept is a chimeric fusion protein consisting of the CD2-binding portion of human leukocyte function antigen-3 (LFA3) linked to the Fc region of human IgG1 (LFA3-Fc). Alefacept was designed to inhibit memory T cell activation that contributes to the chronic autoimmune disease psoriasis by blocking the CD2 coreceptor. However, it was found to deplete memory T cells that express .. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2471-9552.1000104