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Nature Medicine 13, 116 - 117 (2007)
Published online: 31 January 2007 | doi:10.1038/nm0207-116

Gut warfare

Erika Check1

  1. Erika Check writes for Nature Medicine from San Francisco


Far from the unhurried killer it seemed to be, HIV is a swift assassin,gutting the body's immune system within days of infection. Erika Check finds out how this new paradigm is transforming AIDS research.


HIV is supposed to be a slow and stealthy killer. For years, scientists have thought the virus begins its assault in the blood, destroying just a few of its favorite targets—specialized immune cells called CD4 T-helper cells, which anchor the body's defenses against infections.

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