HOST FACTORS IN HIV-INFECTION

Despite the development of several promising therapeutic protocols des igned to stop the spread of HIV, the eventual progression of patients to AIDS remains unavoidable. To this day, the majority of approaches d esigned to counter HIV, or at least to delay the col-lapse of the infe cted patient's immune system, have been based on attempts to interfere directly or indirectly with viral replication. Further understanding of the role played by host factors in HIV pathogenesis is thus essenti al in order to optimize current strategies and exploit new therapeutic avenues. Recognition that it is the outcome of multiple and complex i nteractions between the virus and the host which eventually determine the fate of the patient, new emphasis stresses the importance of studi es attempting to further characterize factors of host resistance and s usceptibility, as well as host immunological parameters having an impa ct on disease progression. In this article, we review the numerous rec ent findings on host factors and HIV pathogenesis as presented at the IXes entretiens du centre Jacques-Cartier. Recent studies on the topic s of HN coreceptors, immune response adaptation to viral diversity, ly mphocyte turnover, and impact of immune activation on viral dynamics a re herein discussed.