A report from the 7th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (June 30-July 3, 2013 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Effective antiretroviral drugs have been developed that, if continuously administered (although with simplification strategies once a patient's viral titer is suppressed) allow for a functional cure resulting in an almost normal life despite the presence of viral reservoirs. In that sense, observations that combination antiretroviral therapy has an untoward suppressive effect on antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity against T cells permitting the establishment of such viral reservoirs were discussed for its implications in the use of vaccines and/or modulators of the immune function to clear latent infections and the risk for reactivation (Madhavi, V. et al., Abst MOLBPE05). In addition to latent viral reservoirs, individual patient characteristics may also influence response to antiretroviral therapy, as exemplified by the increased likelihood of highly active antiretroviral therapy in patients carrying certain polymorphic variants (rs2229109, rs6961419) of the P-glycoprotein 1 gene (Dias, J. et al., Abst MOPE034). These, and many other important news derived from research into novel approaches to fight HIV infection were discussed during the International AIDS Society (IAS) meeting in Kuala Lumpur, as summarized in the following report.