Cancer therapy shows benefits in awakening latent HIV infections

A compound that is currently approved for the treatment of cancer could also be used to activate latent HIV infections, according to a new study.

The UC Davis Health System study showed that PEP005 – the active ingredient in the approved anti-cancer drug Picato – is able to increase HIV activation in patient blood samples, while also showing low toxicity levels.

Currently, highly active antiretroviral therapies are commonly used to treat HIV, but are ineffective against reservoirs of latent, inactive virus, allowing HIV to effectively disguise and protect itself.

PEP005 could be a useful tool to combat this, especially when combined with another molecule, JQ1, which works synergistically with PEP005 to maximize HIV activation. When researchers used the two together, they were able to increase HIV activation up to 15 times.

Lead author Satya Dandekar, chair of the department of medical microbiology and immunology at UC Davis Health System, said: "We are excited to have identified an outstanding candidate for HIV reactivation and eradication that is already approved and is being used in patients. This molecule has great potential to advance into translational and clinical studies."