Why do cells die in HIV infection? Potential mechanisms inducing programmed cell death/apoptosis

This work reviews the suggested mechanisms which result in programmed cell death in human HIV infection. Here we present state-of-the-art scientific information related to the newly rediscovered phenomenon of Apoptosis, and to its biological relevance in the pathogenesis of HIV disease. General features of this phenomenon are reviewed, as well as available evidence for its occurrence and possible role in AIDS pathogenesis. A complex series of cellular and molecular events leading to cellular apoptosis are also reviewed and discussed. They include events which take place at the cell membrane level and those which occur at the intramembrane level and cytoplasmic locations, which result from the immunological activation of affected cells. Cellular events which follow and occur within the mitochondrial space and at the nuclear level are also discussed. The biological significance of all these phenomena is summarized in a theoretical scheme, which attempts to integrate all cellular events leading a primed cell into its HIV-induced programmed death.