We identified indolactam/AR-42 in our study as one of the most effective combinations, as evidenced by the results showing the maximal HIV reactivation and gp120 expression in both cell lines and HIV infected primary CD4+ T-cells, low toxicity and low cell activation in uninfected cells, and low viral release and higher CD4 downregulation, which could be an advantage by reducing de novo infection during the shock and kill strategy. Here, CD4 is linked to infection.