Options in HIV therapy: Present and future

Abstract

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has markedly decreased HIV-associated mortality. It consists of a combination of three antiretroviral drugs from four different classes: nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors and inhibitors of virus-cell fusion. Increasing resistance against antiretroviral drugs calls for the development of new compounds and drug classes. The growing understanding of molecular mechanisms in HIV-replication led to the identification of further steps which might serve as novel antiretroviral targets. Uninfected cells could be protected from HIV by inhibiting extracellular binding mechanisms. Improvement of existing antiretroviral drugs and further development of novel therapeutic targets will enrich antiretroviral treatment.