HIV-macrophage interactions at the cellular and molecular level.

Macrophages, centrally involved in both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system are not only the chief target of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but also its main reservoir and vehicle of transmission. Macrophage-tropic (M-tropic) viruses are responsible for the initial infection, predominate in the asymptomatic phase, and persist throughout infection, even after the emergence of preferential T cell- and/or dual-tropic HIV-1 variants. Functional impairment of HIV-infected macrophages plays a role in the immune dysregulation characteristic of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Efforts directed at understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying HIV-macrophage interactions remain the basis for devising novel and efficacious therapeutic strategies against HIV ant the AIDS epidemic.