Human immunodeficiency virus-infected cell

A 'Human immunodeficiency virus-infected cell' is any human cell that has been infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The most common host cells are CD4+ T lymphocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. This term does not refer to a single defined molecule or canonical therapeutic target, but to a physiopathological state. Drug development for HIV infection usually focuses on viral proteins (e.g., reverse transcriptase, integrase, protease, envelope glycoproteins gp120/gp41) or host cell receptors required for HIV entry (e.g., CD4, CCR5, CXCR4). These molecules—rather than the infected cell as a category—are recognized as valid drug targets[4][5][6].

Other names

HIV-infected cellHIV-infected CD4+ T cellHIV-infected macrophageHIV-infected immune cell