Prostratin May Be Viable Option for HIV Therapy

Prostratin May Be Viable Option for HIV Therapy

PHILADELPHIA--Prostratin, a phorbol ester, may be able toassist in the treatment of HIV, according to in vitro research publishedin the Nov. 15 issue of Blood (98,10: 3006-15, 2001). Researchers fromThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, strove to determine the possibilityof combining prostratin with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) forHIV because the compound is not known to promote tumor growth and is able toblock viral spread yet induce latent proviral expression (prevent the formationof HIV reservoirs, as HIV cells have a propensity to "hide" from HAARTtherapy and resurface later). Research results indicated that prostratin has theability to block HIV-1 infection and reduce viral infectivity of treated hostcells. These results prompted researchers to conclude that prostratin may be acandidate for augmenting HAART by inducing expression of latent HIV-1 with theultimate goal of eliminating persistent viral reservoirs in certain individualsinfected with HIV-1.