Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Preparation and Use of HIV-1 Infected Primary CD4+ T-Cells as Target Cells in Natural Killer Cell Cytotoxic Assays
Published on: March 14, 2011
HIV and CXCR4 in a kiss of autophagic death
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9113, USA. beth.levine@utsouthwestern.edu
Abstract:
AIDS is characterized by CD4+ T lymphocyte depletion, yet the mechanisms underlying this central aspect of HIV pathogenesis are still poorly understood. In this issue of the JCI, Espert et al. identify a mechanism by which the HIV envelope glycoprotein can induce death in uninfected CD4+ T cells (see the related article beginning on page 2161). The HIV envelope glycoprotein interacts with CXC chemokine receptor 4 to activate the lysosomal degradation pathway of autophagy, which is necessary for both apoptotic and nonapoptotic cell death.
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