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HIV is difficult to cure because it can hide inside certain immune cells and remain completely silent for years.
HIV is difficult to cure because it can hide inside certain immune cells and remain completely silent for years. Standard antiretroviral therapy keeps the virus under control but cannot remove these hidden reservoirs. If treatment stops, the virus often comes back. Scientists are now testing a different idea known as the kick and kill strategy, which aims to expose and destroy the virus instead of just suppressing it.
The first step involves waking up dormant HIV inside infected cells. Special compounds are used to activate the virus, forcing it to start making viral proteins again. Once the virus is no longer hidden, those infected cells become visible to the immune system. The second step strengthens immune responses, often using immune cells trained to recognize and destroy HIV infected cells. In experimental mouse models with human like immune systems, combining these two steps led to complete removal of detectable virus in a significant portion of treated animals.
These results suggest HIV does not have to remain permanently hidden. However, this approach is still experimental and has not yet been proven safe or effective in humans. Researchers are now refining which compounds best expose the virus and how to boost immune killing without harming healthy cells. If future studies succeed, this strategy could one day allow people living with HIV to stop lifelong treatment without the virus returning.
Research Paper 
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27647-0
