Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) successfully escapes from host immune surveillance, vaccines and antiretroviral agents. The available antiretroviral compounds can only control viremia, but it is impossible to eliminate the virus from the organism, namely because HIV-1 provirus persists in the reservoir cells from which the virus repeatedly disseminates into new cells.
Current therapeutic approaches, however, do not specifically address the stage of virus reactivation. In this paper, we show that Normosang (heme arginate; HA) appears to possess a combination of unique properties that could help to decrease the pool of latently infected reservoir cells, while simultaneously inhibiting HIV-1 replication in newly infected cells.
The stimulatory effects of HA on HIV-1 reactivation seem to involve HO-1 and generation of free radicals. Our results thus suggest a new direction to explore in treatment of HIV/AIDS disease