Pioneering study shows vorinostat can purge dormant HIV

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have published pioneering research showing that a drug used to treat certain types of lymphoma was able to dislodge hidden virus in patients receiving treatment for HIV.

The existence of persistent reservoirs of dormant HIV in the immune system that are not attacked by anti-AIDS drugs is believed to be a major reason why infection re-emerges once patients stop taking their medication. The disruption and clearance of these reservoirs is critical to finding a cure for AIDS. The study was published in the July 25 issue of the scientific journal, Nature.

Researchers at UNC, working in collaboration with scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, National Cancer Institute, Merck & Co and the University of California at San Diego, undertook a series of experiments designed to evaluate the potential of the drug vorinostat, a deacetylase inhibitor that is used to treat some types of lymphoma, to activate and disrupt the dormant virus. The cancer drug - which carries the trade name Zolinza - was developed by US pharma giant Merck & Co, which, along with the National Institutes of Health and the James B Pendleton Charitable Trust, provided funding for the study.