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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Phagosome Migration and Velocity Measured in Live Primary Human Macrophages Infected with HIV-1
Published on: September 5, 2016
The macrophage in HIV infection
1Department of Pathology, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20037, USA. pat.jmo@gwumc.edu
Abstract:
Macrophages play a key role in several critical aspects of HIV disease. They appear to be the first cells infected by HIV and perhaps the very source of HIV production when CD4+ cells are markedly depleted in the patient. Macrophages and microglial cells are the cells infected by HIV in the CNS. In tonsils and adenoids of HIV-infected patients, macrophages fuse into multinucleated giant cells that produce copious amounts of virus. Finally, opportunistic pathogens can cause an upregulation of HIV production by macrophages, often in the multinucleated form.
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