DO ENDOGENOUS CANNABINOIDS CONTRIBUTE TO HIV-MEDIATED IMMUNE FAILURE

The failure of the immune system to mount a successful attack on the h uman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an old enigma for AIDS research. The high mutational capacity of HIV, which unremittingly confuses the immune system, is a major factor in immune failure. But this alone can not fully explain the certain and inescapable failure of the immune sy stem, leading to full-blown AIDS. Here, we propose the hypothesis that endogenous cannabinoids, derived mostly from macrophages, might parti cipate in the general failure of the immune system in HIV-infected ind ividuals.