Abstract
The progressive loss of CD4 T lymphocyte is patognomonic of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and results in immunodeficiency and the appearance of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining pathologies. Although a percentage of CD4 T lymphocytes is destroyed directly by HIV infection, a much higher proportion of lymphocytes remains uninfected and therefore must be destroyed by mechanisms not directly involving viral infection. One such mechanism is apoptotic T cell death (ATCD). ATCD in HIV infection has been shown to be: 1) secondary to cross-linking of CD4 by viral proteins; 2) mediated by both APO-1/Fas and lymphotoxin (LT); and 3) differentially modulated by type 1 and type 2 cytokines. We will briefly analyze the experimental evidences suggesting that ATCD contributes significantly to the immunopathogenesis of HIV/AIDS via depletion of CD4+ T cells.
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Clerici, M., Sarin, A., Henkart, P. et al. Apoptotic cell death and cytokine dysregulation in human immunodeficiency virus infection: pivotal factors in disease progression. Cell Death Differ 4, 699–706 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.cdd.4400314
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.cdd.4400314
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