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Statin compounds reduce human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication by preventing the interaction between virion-associated host intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and its natural cell surface ligand LFA-1.

Giguère JF, Tremblay MJ

Research Center in Infectious Diseases, RC709, CHUL Research Center and Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec, Canada G1V 4G2.

A variety of host factors, including membrane proteins acquired by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), play a dominant role in HIV-1 adsorption onto host cells. Examples include the integrin intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), which, once acquired by HIV-1, promotes virus infectivity via ligation to LFA-1. We tested the ability of statins to diminish HIV-1 replication, based on the idea that these compounds have been shown to block ICAM-1-LFA-1 interactions. Our data indicate that statins diminish HIV-1 attachment to target cells by suppressing ICAM-1-LFA-1 interactions. The capacity of statins to limit the initial steps in virus replication could represent an interesting approach for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.

Published 13 October 2004 in J Virol, 78(21): 12062-5.
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