The macrophage and HIV-1.
As described above, monocytes/macrophages from such diverse areas as the CNS, lungs, peripheral blood, cord blood, and liver are susceptible to infection by HIV-1 and may serve as reservoirs for transmitting the virus throughout the body. In contrast to lymphocytes, the chronic and low-level mode of infection that HIV-1 takes on within monocytes/macrophages allows these cells to contribute to persistent viral infection. Infection of these cells by HIV-1 can alter a variety of their immunological functions such as cytokine production, chemotaxis, accessory cell function, and microbicidal activity. Furthermore, macrophages and macrophage-related microglial cells in the brain and CSF are thought to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of CNS disease. Infection with HIV-1 in monocytes/macrophages is regulated in an autocrine manner by a panel of cytokines and other soluble factors. Most HIV-1 isolates exhibit specific tropism for monocytes/macrophages, lymphocytes, or, in some cases, both cell types; this phenomenon of tropism may be linked to structural variabilities between different isolates. While in vitro studies clearly demonstrate that the replicating cycle of HIV-1 in monocytes/macrophages differs from its replicating cycle in lymphocytes, elucidation of the role of monocyte/macrophages in mediating the severe immunosuppression characteristic of AIDS is far more from complete, and further investigation into the role of monocytes/macrophages in the immunopathogenesis of HIV-1 infection is necessary to design therapeutic approaches to control viral infection and disease progression.
Ho
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Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Cherukuri
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Douglas
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SD
D015526:AIDS Dementia Complex / Q000209:etiology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000209:etiology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology; D011533:Proviruses / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D016207:Cytokines