UNC Study Advances the Ability to Expose Latent HIV

The team studied Vorinostat in 16 patients living with HIV whose viral load was controlled through standard antiviral therapy. Doses of Vorinostat were administered at 48 or 72-hour intervals. The team found that HIV could be more easily detected within latently infected CD4+ T cells when Vorinostat was administered once every three days, even though control of viral load in the blood was maintained.
“We showed that a single dose of Vorinostat could expose the hidden virus several years ago, but it has taken two studies over the last five years to define the proper interval dosing strategy to use Vorinostat safely and effectively,” said Nancie Archin Ph.D., lead author of this study and an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UNC. “Now we can attempt to chip away the viral reservoir.”
Over a month of treatment with Vorinostat few side effects and no serious toxicities were seen, but depletion of latent infection was not found. The team believes pairing a latency reversing agent, like Vorinostat, with an antiviral immune therapy, such as a vaccine or an antibody capable of recognizing and clearing the latent cells, will be needed to achieve a cure.

The team at the HIV Cure Center collaborated with researchers in the Departments of Medicine, and Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Medicine, the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and the Eshelman School of Pharmacy on this study. Merck Sharpe & Dohme provided Vorinostat, and the National Institutes of Health funded this research.
The mission of UNC’s Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases is to harness the full resources of the University and its partners to solve global health problems, reduce the burden of disease, and cultivate the next generation of global health leaders. Learn more at www.globalhealth.unc.edu.