HIV has been a global public health concern since it was discovered in 1981. The development of effective anti-HIV therapy is a top priority, especially as there is no vaccine available. HIV can integrate into the human genome to form a persistent HIV reservoir that cannot be eradicated by current approaches. Although implementation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the so-called “cocktail” therapy, has rendered HIV/AIDS a manageable chronic disease, HAART is lifelong treatment and is associated with drug resistance, toxic damage to vital organs, and high costs. Once HAART is stopped, HIV rebound occurs from the reservoir in the host. Although little is known about the biology of HIV reservoirs, there have been an increasing number of cured or near-cured patients in recent years, especially with regard to posttreatment interruption without a viral rebound for a long time, which is called posttreatment control (PTC) or functional cure. Thus, a functional HIV cure has become the mainstay of current treatment approaches.

自 1981 年发现以来，艾滋病毒一直是全球公共卫生问题。开发有效的抗艾滋病毒疗法是当务之急，特别是在没有可用疫苗的情况下。 HIV可以整合到人类基因组中，形成持久的HIV病毒库，目前的方法无法根除。尽管高效抗逆转录病毒疗法（HAART）（即所谓的“鸡尾酒”疗法）的实施已使艾滋病毒/艾滋病成为一种可控制的慢性疾病，但HAART是终生治疗，并且与耐药性、对重要器官的毒性损害以及高昂的费用有关。 。一旦停止HAART，HIV病毒就会从宿主体内的病毒库中反弹。尽管人们对HIV储存库的生物学知之甚少，但近年来治愈或接近治愈的患者数量不断增加，特别是治疗后长期中断而没有病毒反弹，这被称为治疗后控制（PTC） ）或功能性治愈。因此，功能性艾滋病毒治疗已成为当前治疗方法的支柱。