HIV may use infected T cells to exploit the body's immune system

摘要

A study has highlighted another way in which HIV can take advantage of the immune system. HIV infects and destroys CD4~+ T cells (cells that normally bolster the ability of other immune cells to combat infection), but it appears the virus also uses these infected cells as an aid to travel to other locations in the body and infect other CD4~+ T cells. Thornsten Mempel (Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, MA, USA) recently led a project that was the first to elucidate the behavior mechanisms of HIV-infected T cells in the lymph node of a live animal model; a 'humanized' murine model of HIV infection.