title: Human herpesvirus 6 in AIDS.
abstract: Multiple lines of clinical and experimental evidence suggest that human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) may act as an accelerating factor in the natural history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Although, in common with HIV, HHV-6 has a primary tropism for CD4+ T cells, its potential effects on the immune system are broader. For instance, HHV-6 can also infect and kill CD8+ T cells, natural killer cells and mononuclear phagocytes. Here, Paolo Lusso and Robert Gallo suggest that understanding the immunopathogenic role of HHV-6 in the course of HIV infection may shed new light on the complex mechanisms of disease progression in AIDS.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lusso
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Gallo
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000821:virology*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000150:complications*; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans