Role of apoptosis in HIV disease pathogenesis.
After approximately one and a half decades of intensive studies, the exact mechanisms to explain HIV-mediated cytopathicity are still enigmatic and need closer scrutiny. There has been a dichotomy between virological and immunological viewpoints in understanding HIV-mediated cytopathicity, the former emphasizing a killing of infected cells by HIV-1 and the latter emphasizing indirect mechanisms wherein HIV or its soluble component(s) alter CD4 T-cell function and induce susceptibility to apoptosis. Accumulating evidence points to the notion that apoptosis might be a major contributor to the depletion of CD4 T-cells in HIV infection. This review summarizes current information about the regulatory mechanisms of T-cell apoptosis and the role of apoptosis in HIV pathogenesis with the goal of providing an integrated view of HIV cytopathicity.
Oyaizu
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Department of Pediatrics, North Shore University Hospital-Cornell University Medical College, Manhasset, New York, New York 11030, USA.
Pahwa
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D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology