Host-directed and immune-based therapies for human immunodeficiency virus infection.

This essay reviews the rationale underlying host-directed or immune-based therapeutic strategies for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and its complications. These approaches have seen only limited trial in the past 10 years, but as more is learned about the immunopathogenesis of HIV disease and as the limitations of virus-directed therapies become more apparent, the need to pursue other therapeutic avenues has become increasingly important. Moreover, properly designed trials of host-directed and immune-based therapies can provide key insights into the pathogenesis of HIV disease that may be otherwise unattainable through in vitro studies.