[Safer trials of vaccine and gene therapy against HIV]

HIV, the etiological agent of AIDS, induces depletion of CD4+T cells. Upon primary infection, there is an initial viremia that is followed rapidly by a cell-mediated immune response and apparent viral clearance. Thereafter, the persistence of low levels of HIV in the blood for years before the onset of the disease is facilitated by the ability of the virus to establish persistent and latent infection. Notwithstanding the latent form in most population, the clinical stage of disease is significantly associated with all measures of virus load levels. This may be mainly due to the function of HIV to induce apoptosis in a patients' uninfected CD4+T cells, as a bystander effect. Thus, the mechanisms that latently infect in the cells after HIV infection and stimulate active replication of HIV from the latency are essential for an understanding of the pathogenicity of the disease. Therefore, prophylactic and therapeutic trials should be focused to their effect to reduce the HIV load level.