Efficacy of Lauric Acid, a Dietary Fatty Acid, in Modifying the Latent Reservoir of HIV

Dietary lauric acid supplementation could have a significant impact on the HIV reservoir in antiretroviral-treated patients by inducing HIV viral transcription in latently infected cells and preserving the HIV-specific immune response, without causing toxicity. Design: Pilot, randomized, placebo-controlled, patient-blind study. Patients ≥18 years old with HIV-1 receiving stable ART (no change in ART for at least 6 months) and a serum HIV RNA load of \300 cells/μl will be randomized 1:1:1 to dietary supplementation with placebo (controlled group) or lauric acid 1.5 g once daily (experimental group 1) or with lauric acid 3 g once daily (experimental group 2) for 24 consecutive weeks. Primary objective: To assess the effect of dietary lauric acid supplementation, compared with placebo, on the reactivation of HIV transcription in latently infected CD4 T cells in HIV-infected patients on suppressive antiretroviral therapy.