Protective properties of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (MC1220) incorporated into liposome against intravaginal challenge of Rhesus Macaques with RT-SHIV

In the absence of an effective vaccine against HIV, it is urgent to develop an effective alternative such as a microbicide Single and repeated applications of MC1220 microbicide were evaluated in macaques First, animals were given a single application of 0 5% or 1 5% MC1220-containing liposomal gel A second group were treated with 05% MC1220 once a day for 4 days The control groups were treated by liposomal gel alone Thirty minutes after the last application, animals were challenged with RT-SHIV In the first protocol, 2 of 4 animals treated by 05% of the MC1220 and 2 of 5 treated by 1.5% were protected In the second protocol, 3 of 5 treated animals were protected and 5 of 5 controls were infected The RNA viral load at necropsy was significantly lower (p = 0 05) in treated-infected animals than in controls In both protocols, the number of CD4+ T cells was lower at viremia peak in infected than in protected animals (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved