cure the infection.” That’s because the virus hides in reservoirs—specific cells that harbor HIV.
The various members of the Collaboratory are focusing on different aspects of combating HIV latency. UCSF’s Gladstone is zeroing in on understanding the molecular basis of HIV latency. Greene says two types of cells that the virus hides in have already been identified: transitional memory T cells and central memory CD4 T cells. With the new funding and Merck’s participation, he says, “We’re going to look very hard to see if the virus is lying low in other cells we don’t know about.”
Galdstone will also work closely with Merck to try to discover small-molecule drugs that can wake up the sleeping virus and ultimately eradicate it. Greene imagines a drug cocktail will be necessary, which is why the involvement of a pharmaceutical company is so vital, he says. “Merck brings so much drug-development experience,” Greene says. “Their library of molecules, their instruments, their ability to do pharmacological research—that will all be key.”
Although such a cocktail might not cure HIV, Greene says, “Maybe we can reset the immune system so patients can control the disease when they come off the drugs.” That’s especially important in the developing world, he adds, where cost constraints make it difficult to keep patients on drug cocktails for years on end.
When asked whether drugs will be able to eradicate HIV reservoirs, Hazuda responds with cautious optimism. “It does look like there are multiple avenues by which the virus remains hidden. So multiple approaches in parallel will be needed,” she says. “Can it be solved with drugs? I’m always an optimist. But I don’t think there will be one magic bullet.”
All told, the Delaney Collaboratory is providing $14 million a year for up to five years to three research consortia that are all working on the problem of HIV latency. Merck is among a handful of drug companies participating in the effort. “Even in the early days, we worked closely with academia to understand the basic biology and biochemistry of HIV,” Hazuda says. “We need to expand those relationships and be very highly collaborative, so we can assess how effective the interventions we’re thinking about really are.”
