Targeting regulators of cellular gene transcription to impact HIV latency

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The impact of antiretroviral therapy represents a major demonstration of the capability and success of modern drug discovery, development, and implementation. Nevertheless, in infected individuals this success lasts only as long as adherence to the regimen is maintained. Discontinuation of treatment results in viral rebound, necessitating the chronic, lifelong administration of antiretroviral therapy. The requirement for lifelong therapy results from the inability to deplete the persistent reservoir of latently infected cells. The admittedly ambitious ultimate goal of this application is to purge the latently infected reservoir with the objective of eradicating the infection or minimizing the HIV reservoir sufficiently to attain durable immunologic control. This Program Project has been designed with three Projects and two Scientific Cores. Project 1 will identify and characterize potent histone deacetylase inhibitors for the initial studies, while using a human genome siRNA library to identify additional targets for small molecule intervention. These treatment strategies will be systematically evaluated in the following models: (1) the in vitro model of latently infected primary human CD4 lymphocytes developed in our laboratory (Project 2), (2) CD4 lymphocytes obtained ex vivo from chronically infected, HAART-suppressed patients (project 2), and (3) an SIV/Rhesus macaque model (Project 1). Latent infection will be quantified by the two scientific cores. The Molecular Virology Core will measure infectivity, HIV (SIV) nucleic acid species including integrated DNA, and ability of CD4 lymphocytes to express p24 (p27) upon activation. The Molecular Imaging Core (Haase lab) will quantify and characterize infection in antiretroviral drug-suppressed cells from the in vitro HIV model and from macaque tissues. While assessing treatment efficacy and minimizing toxicity, potential collateral immunological consequences of these interventions targeted to host functions will be systematically characterized in Project 3. This highly coordinated, collaboration which ranges from target and drug discovery through animal model proof-of-concept will reveal new insights regarding the pathogenetic mechanisms of HIV latency; however, the goal of the Program Project is to cure AIDS.