Deciphering how CD4 T cells die during HIV infection

Thursday, November 25, 2010 - 12:10 in Health & Medicine

Scientists at Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology have solved a long-standing mystery about HIV infection - namely how HIV promotes the death of CD4 T cells. It is the loss of this critical subset of immune cells that leads to the development of AIDS. Most immune cells that die during HIV infection are seemingly not infected, a phenomenon formerly described as 'bystander cell killing.' Now the Gladstone scientists report that these 'bystander' cells are actually the victims of a failed or abortive form of viral infection. Their findings are published in today's issue of the journal Cell...

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