POZ news story
Some CD4 T cells infected with HIV can take on the characteristics of CD8 cells. The researchers found that this transformed population of induced CD8 cells can still harbor latent HIV and contributes to the viral reservoir, which has implications for functional cure strategies.
HIV enters immune cells via the CD4 receptor on the cell surface along with a second coreceptor, either CCR5 or CXCR4. Most T cells carrying the CD4 receptor are “helper” cells that coordinate the adaptive immune response, while cells bearing the CD8 receptor are cytotoxic “killer” cells that destroy virus-infected and cancerous cells. It has traditionally been assumed that CD4 and CD8 cells generally maintain a stable identity over time and that the HIV reservoir primarily consists of dormant CD4 cells, but the new research suggests that the picture is more complex.
Read the full news story here.
Source : POZ
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