Minocycline

Minocycline is an antibiotic that has been used since the 1970s for treating acne. Reports now indicate that minocycline effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV lies dormant, and prevents them from reactivating and producing virus. Minocycline reduces the ability of T-cells to activate and proliferate, both steps crucial to HIV production and infection of further CD4 cells.

Minocycline may therefore have the potential to limit HIV replication from the pool of latently infected CD4 cells believed to constitute the major source of ongoing viral replication in patients with viral load below the limits of detection on current tests. It has been suggested that minocycline should be explored as an adjunct to antiretroviral therapy, due to the low likelihood that the virus could develop resistance to it.

The drug has also shown anti-inflammatory effects on T-cells in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Proponents suggest that it might also reduce the persistent inflammation seen in HAART-treated patients, and prevent migration of the virus into the central nervous system. Minocycline is already being tested as a treatment for cognitive impairment in people with HIV in the United States and Uganda.