Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA. jpm2003@mail.med.cornell.edu
Despite the success of protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors, new drugs to suppress HIV-1 replication are still needed. Several other early events in the viral life cycle (stages before the viral genome is inserted into host cell DNA) are susceptible to drugs, including virus attachment to target cells, membrane fusion and post-entry events such as integration, accessory-gene function and assembly of viral particles. Among these, inhibitors of virus-cell fusion and integration are the most promising candidates.