Does HIV cause depletion of CD4+ T cells in vivo by the induction of apoptosis?
JAWOROWSKI, ANTHONY; CROWE, SUZANNE M
[Article] Immunology & Cell Biology. 77(1):90-98, February 1999.

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Summary: The central pathogenic feature of AIDS is the dramatic loss of CD4 lymphocytes. Despite more than a decade of intense research, the exact mechanism by which HIV causes this is still not understood. A major model for T cell depletion, proposed originally by Ameison and Capron in a report published in 1991, is that HIV sensitizes CD4 T cells for activation-induced apoptosis. The apoptotic model of T cell depletion is discussed, and experiments that address the questions of whether apoptosis is restricted to infected cells or 'bystander' T cells, and whether T cell apoptosis requires participation of separate HIV-infected haematopoietic cell populations, are reviewed.

(C) 1999 University of Adelaide