HIV Rev-Dependent Vectors for Immunotherapy

Due to latent reservoirs of infected cells, HIV is an incurable disease that continues to exist in the body even after antiretroviral therapy. This restricts physicians' capacity to create a long-term remedy. The effectiveness of current immunotherapies is limited. The use of HIV Rev-dependent lentiviral vectors as a focused strategy to stop HIV replication is investigated in this study. This vector specifically targets the replicating protein, REV, in contrast to earlier systems. Using primary macrophages and human T cell lines, it is verified that the vector only expresses reporter genes when Rev is present. Rev-dependent vectors and a suicide gene lower viral loads and encourage the production of potent neutralizing antibodies in SIV-infected cells. The results show that by specifically targeting active viral reservoirs, Rev-dependent vectors can get around the drawbacks of current strategies. This study displays potential as a promising direction for future HIV cure strategies that integrate targeted gene therapy with immune-based therapies.