The Immunopathogenesis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

Abstract

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is probably the most intensively studied virus in the history of biomedical research. A large number of distinct isolates have been cloned and sequenced, and the genes of the virus and several of the protein products of these genes have been characterized¹. Furthermore, many of the pathogenic mechanisms associated with HIV infection that lead to clinical disease have been established, such as the functional abnormalities and quantitative depletion of CD4 T lymphocytes that cause the profound immunosuppression characteristic of advanced HIV infection². It is generally agreed that HIV itself has the primary role . . .