Effect of bile salts and of fusidic acid on HIV-1 infection of cultured cells.

Bile salts completely inactivated human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in vitro and, unexpectedly, completely destroyed all the cultured persistently HIV-1 infected T cells. Fusidic acid, which likewise possesses the properties of an anionic surfactant, inactivated HIV-1 only at concentrations toxic to uninfected cultured cells. Bile salts or their derivatives, and other anionic surfactants, could be of therapeutic value in HIV-1 infections.