Lectins as Promising Therapeutics for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV and Other Potential Coinfections

Figure 1

Bidirectional biological synergy between HIV and sexually transmitted pathogens. There are complex interactions between HIV infection and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Both inflammatory and ulcerative STDs increase HIV susceptibility, while enhancing virus shedding and therefore increasing patient infectiousness. This results in increased HIV burden. Meanwhile, HIV infection increases susceptibility to and the severity of STDs, decreasing also treatment efficacy. This vicious cycle might promote HIV superinfection, which is the reinfection of an individual who already has an established infection with a heterologous HIV strain. C. trachomatis: Chlamydia trachomatis; T. vaginalis: Trichomonas vaginalis; N. gonorrhoeae: Neisseria gonorrhoeae; UPEC: uropathogenic Escherichia coli; C. albicans: Candida albicans; T. pallidum: Treponema pallidum; HSV: herpes simplex virus; HPV: human papillomavirus; Rx: treatment.