Anti-HIV-1 Gene Expressing Lentiviral Vectors as an Adjunctive Therapy for HIV-1 Infection

Lentiviral based gene therapy may provide a valuable addition to the current anti-HIV arsenal. Many lentiviral vector systems have been described including those based on feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV) and 2 (HIV-2 / SIV) as well as replication incompetent, self-inactivating (sin) vs. conditionally replicating (mobilizable) vectors. Lentiviral vectors offer promise in treating HIV-1 infection as they are capable of stably transducing both dividing and nondividing cells, specifically those cells involved in HIV-1 replication and immune restoration: T-cells, hematopoietic stem cells, and dendritic cells. Moreover, some of the HIV-1 and 2 based vectors can be mobilized by wildtype HIV-1 in vivo and spread to those cells targeted by the virus as well as can compete with viral RNA for packaging and access to viral proteins such as Tat and Rev required for viral replication. Finally, lentiviral vectors can be designed to express therapeutic anti-HIV-1 genes, which specifically target various stages of viral replication. Many candidate RNA based anti-HIV-1 genes have been expressed from lentiviral vectors including ribozymes and anti-sense RNA [1]. Recently, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have been shown to potently suppress HIV replication [2-6]. This review will focus on the current status of lentiviral vector development and the feasibility of using lentiviral vectors in delivering anti-HIV genes, specifically ribozymes, and siRNAs as a therapeutic approach to employ in conjunction with current anti-retroviral therapies.