Residual Proviral Reservoirs: A High Risk for HIV Persistence and Driving Forces for Viral Rebound after Analytical Treatment Interruption

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically suppressed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication and become undetectable viremia. However, a small number of residual replication-competent HIV proviruses can still persist in a latent state even with lifelong ART, fueling viral rebound in HIV-infected patient subjects after treatment interruption. Therefore, the proviral reservoirs distributed in tissues in the body represent a major obstacle to a cure for HIV infection. Given unavailable HIV vaccine and a failure to eradicate HIV proviral reservoirs by current treatment, it is crucial to develop new therapeutic strategies to eliminate proviral reservoirs for ART-free HIV remission (functional cure), including a sterilizing cure (eradication of HIV reservoirs). This review highlights recent advances in the establishment and persistence of HIV proviral reservoirs, their detection, and potential eradication strategies.