The present invention relates to methods for the identification of anti-HIV miRNAs and anti-HIV pharmaceutical compounds using high-throughput screening methods, comprising: transfecting reporter cells with a panel of miRNAs, infecting the reporter cells with HIV, screening the cells to identify miRNAs that modulate HIV infection and identifying the specific pathways, nucleic acids and/or polypeptides that are targeted by the miRNAs. The invention further provides for the identification and screening of anti-HIV pharmaceutical compounds having known activity against the specific pathways, nucleic acids and/or polypeptides that are targeted by the miRNAs for efficacy in the treatment of HIV. The invention also provides for the use of miRNA mimics, miRNA inhibitors and pharmaceutical compounds (including oncology drugs and kinase inhibitors) in the treatment and/or prevention of HIV infection.
The human protein targets identified in our microRNA-based screen provide a validated set of novel human factors that can inhibit HIV replication. By targeting these same human proteins with pharmaceutical compounds that have already successfully passed toxicity testing, we could identify novel anti-HIV therapeutics while re-purposing pharmaceutical compounds and thus greatly reduce the cost and time involved in such studies.
