INTRODUCTION

Animal models have great utility in the biomedical research of human diseases. Organ culture also has been used extensively to mimic infection of organs, with complex structure and multiple cell types.

Many aspects of complex diseases cannot be duplicated in simpler systems. With regard to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), many of the key questions regarding pathogenesis can only be answered in these complex systems that more closely mimic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection of humans. For example, there is evidence for direct killing of HIV-1 infected cells as well as indirect killing of bystander cells by a variety of mechanisms. Lymph nodes and thymus are major sites of HIV-1 infection in vivo and, thus, it is important to study which mechanism or mechanisms of T-cell depletion are operative in each tissue after infection with R5 or X4 HIV-1. Although many questions can be answered with the use of organ culture and animal models, some questions can be addressed only in animal models. This is the case for questions regarding the replacement of T cells. It is not clear whether T cells that are killed by HIV-1 directly or indirectly are replaced primarily by new T cells derived from the thymus or by expansion of those mature T cells that exist. This may also vary depending on a variety of factors, including the age of the infected host and viral phenotype, including co-receptor specificity.

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Source: Badley A.D. (ed.). Cell Death During HIV Infection. Taylor & Francis,2006. — 511 p.. 2006

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INTRODUCTION

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