Lamivudine or stavudine in two- and three-drug combinations against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication in vitro.

Two- and three-drug combinations of lamivudine or stavudine with other antiretroviral drugs were evaluated for activity against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Other agents included zidovudine, didanosine, nevirapine, and saquinavir. Paired zidovudine-sensitive and -resistant clinical HIV-1 isolates were used. Additive or synergistic interactions were observed against the zidovudine-sensitive isolate with the following combinations: lamivudine-zidovudine, lamivudine-stavudine, lamivudine-saquinavir, lamivudine-nevirapine, stavudine-zidovudine, stavudine-didanosine, stavudine-saquinavir, stavudine-nevirapine, lamivudine-zidovudine-saquinavir, lamivudine-zidovudine-stavudine, stavudine-zidovudine-nevirapine, lamivudine-zidovudine-nevirapine, and stavudine-zidovudine-saquinavir. Against the zidovudine-resistant isolate, additive or synergistic interactions were seen with most two- and three-drug combinations, but the combination of stavudine-zidovudine was antagonistic. The clinical implications of these in vitro observations should be explored.