title: HIV-1 dynamics revisited: biphasic decay by cytotoxic T lymphocyte killing?
abstract: The biphasic decay of blood viraemia in patients being treated for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection has been explained as the decay of two distinct populations of cells: the rapid death of productively infected cells followed by the much slower elimination of a second population the identity of which remains unknown. Here we advance an alternative explanation based on the immune response against a single population of infected cells. We show that the biphasic decay can be explained simply, without invoking multiple compartments: viral load falls quickly while cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are still abundant, and more slowly as CTL disappear. We propose a method to test this idea, and develop a framework that is readily applicable to treatment of other infections.
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Biology Program, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. ramy_arnaout@student.hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Arnaout
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wodarz
mesh_terms: D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D019562:Viral Load