Castrating the Virus: A Conceptual Framework for Pseudoreceptor‑Based Host‑Directed Antiviral Strategies

Rapidly mutating viruses such as HIV evade classical vaccine strategies by altering their surface antigens while relying on stable host receptors for entry. This asymmetry suggests a conceptual opportunity: instead of targeting the virus directly, one can target the interaction architecture that the virus cannot change. This paper proposes a simplified but powerful theoretical strategy: the systemic deployment of engineered pseudoreceptors that act as sacrificial viral sinks. These decoys bind the virus, trigger its irreversible fusion machinery, and divert its genetic material into a non‑viable environment—functionally “castrating” the virus by exhausting its infective potential. The resulting virus–decoy complexes may also serve as controlled immunogenic stimuli, supporting natural immunity. This framework is presented as a conceptual model rather than a biomedical protocol, situating the idea within existing decoy technologies while highlighting its novel systems‑level logic.