HOST GENES AND HIV - THE ROLE OF THE CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR GENE CCR5 ANDITS ALLELE (DELTA-32 CCR5)

Since the late 1970s, 8.4 million people worldwide, including 1.7 mill ion children, have died of AIDS, and an estimated 22 million people ar e infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)(I). During 1995 and 1996, major clinical and laboratory discoveries regarding HIV pathoge nesis provided new hope for the prevention and treatment of HIV infect ion. One major discovery was that members of the chemokine receptor fa mily serve as cofactors for HIV entry into cells. We describe the role of allelic polymorphism in the gene coding for the CCR5 chemokine rec eptor with regard to susceptibility to and disease course of HIV infec tion. We also examine the effect of this discovery on medical and publ ic health practices.