AIDS virus infection and autoimmunity: a perspective of the clinical, immunological, and molecular origins of the autoallergic pathologies associated with HIV disease.
The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a viral-induced disorder of humans that is reaching pandemic proportions. The etiologic agent responsible for AIDS is recognized as a retrovirus termed the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This virus is both cytotropic and cytopathic for T lymphocytes in vitro, and patients with AIDS and HIV-related conditions invariably have serious T cell abnormalities, notably a reduced number of the helper/inducer (CD4+) subpopulation. There is now a substantial body of evidence to suggest that the AIDS virus triggers a diverse range of autoimmune phenomena. The purpose of this article is to summarize the clinical and immunopathological manifestations of autoimmunity in HIV infection and to provide a perspective of the possible origins and roles autoimmune reactions play in HIV disease progression.
Morrow
W J
WJ
IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation, La Jolla, California 92037.
Isenberg
D A
DA
Sobol
R E
RE
Stricker
R B
RB
Kieber-Emmons
T
T
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015551:Autoimmunity; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data