title: How human immunodeficiency viruses and herpesviruses affect apoptosis.
abstract: Eighty to hundred percent of patients positive for human immunodefficiency viruses 1 or 2 (HIV) may develop opportunistic viral infections. According to the National Institute of Health data, only in the USA the HIV patients are positive also for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in 25-40%, varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in 10%, herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (human herpesvirus 8, KSHV, HHV-8) in 20%. HIV and herpesviruses express numerous different proteins that are able to influence interactions between the host and virus. One of the most interesting regulatory phenomenon is apoptosis which could play a significant role during both specific and non-specific antiviral response and latency. Apoptosis is an ordered cascade of precisely regulated enzymatic reactions which may be modulated or even controlled by viruses. Dramatic changes which occur during infection and which are exerted by HIV and certain herpesviruses on the mechanism of apoptosis may contribute to the pathogenesis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw Agricultural University, Grochowska 272, 03-849 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krzyzowska
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schollenberger
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Niemiałtowski
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D006678:HIV / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans