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Complex interactions between HIV and macrophages Volume 15, issue 2, Mars-Avril 2011

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Authors
Institut Pasteur, unité de régulation des infections rétrovirales, 25, rue du Docteur-Roux, 75015 Paris, France

Macrophages are cells of the immune system that, with T lymphocytes, are major target for HIV, the pathogen responsible for AIDS. Macrophages play a relevant role in the pathogenesis of the infection, from the entry of the virus through the mucosa to its spreading in body tissues, especially the central nervous system, and contribute to the formation of viral reservoirs. The replication of HIV in macrophages presents similarities but also some differences compared to that in lymphocytes, and requires a number of interactions between viral and host proteins essential for each step of the viral cycle. Nevertheless, many cellular proteins act as restriction factors against the virus, inhibiting different phases of its replication. In this review, we summarise the up-to-date knowledge of the replication cycle of HIV in macrophages and we describe the key role of certain cellular factors implicated in the control of its replication specifically in these cells.