title: Cytokines and HIV/AIDS: a critical look at the existing relationship between them.
abstract: Cytokines are a group of signalling polypeptides or glycoproteins secreted by cells of the body and like hormones and neurotransmitters, used extensively in cellular communication. They are involved in the innate immune response because they induce macrophage and natural killer (NK) cell activation, generating inflammatory and chemotaxis processes. They also play a role in the adaptive immune response when they act on T and B lymphocytes, favouring the communication among different cell populations. Cytokines are involved in the early pathogenesis of HIV infection and disease progression as a component of immunologic dysregulation and immunodeficiency and as determinants controlling virus replication and could be classified in the following three functional groups: HIV-inductive cytokines; HIV-suppressive cytokines; and cytokines with both activating and inhibiting capacities (bifunctional cytokines). This review focuses on the mechanism of action of these molecules and their implication in different steps of the retrovirus life cycle, from binding to budding of the progeny virions from the infected cell.
authors.affiliation: University of Bucharest, Faculty of Biology, Microbiology Immunology Department, Ale. Portocalelor 1-3, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Osakwe Chukwunomso
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Ekene
mesh_terms: D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology*; D006678:HIV / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000276:immunology; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines