Final answer:
HIV therapists target viral replication processes with antiretroviral therapy, which includes drugs like protease inhibitors that suppress the virus and aid in prolonging the lives of affected individuals. The treatment must address the virus's rapid mutation and ability to hide within immune cells, complicating management and cure efforts.
Step-by-step explanation:
HIV therapists aim to target the virus by using antiretroviral therapy (ART), which includes a range of drugs that interfere with various stages of the HIV life-cycle. These drugs include protease inhibitors, reverse transcriptase inhibitors, integrase inhibitors, and fusion inhibitors. Because HIV can infect CD4+ helper T cells and integrate into the host's genetic machinery, it compromises immune system responses. By targeting virally encoded proteins necessary for viral replication - which are absent in normal human cells - these treatments can strongly suppress the virus, prolonging the lives of those infected with HIV. Moreover, prompt treatment is crucial as it can slow disease progression and limit the transmission risk.
However, the challenge remains that HIV rapidly mutates to evade the immune system, necessitating the continuous development of diverse treatment strategies. The virus's ability to remain hidden in immune cells poses a further difficulty, as a complete cure requires eradication of these reservoirs. Research in developing an HIV vaccine continues, focusing on identifying parts of the virus that do not change and could be targets for vaccination.