Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus, a separate genus of the
Retroviridae which are RNA viruses that integrate as DNA copies into the g
enomes of host cells and replicate intracellularly. The genomic RNA as well
as several of the RNA intermediates can be targeted by ribozymes. We and o
thers have demonstrated the ability of ribozymes to suppress HIV replicatio
n in cultured cells. The use of ribozyme gene therapy for the treatment of
HIV infection may act as an adjunct to chemotherapeutic drugs affecting not
just viral suppression, but also immune restoration. This approach is curr
ently being tested in Clinical Trials.