Compound shows potential to both ‘kick’ and ‘kill’ latent HIV

UCLA researchers have designed a new latency-reversing compound. SUW133 is similar to the known latency-reversing agent bryostatin and can both activate HIV and cause cell death in an HIV mouse model. The researchers tested SUW133 in lab experiments in cells and mice. They showed that it was safe and able to awaken latent HIV. A bonus is that SUW133 also triggers death in some cells with reactivated HIV. These results add SUW133 to the latency reversal toolbox. Understanding more about how and when SUW133 impacts HIV expression will be important for it to become more widely used. Read more