What happens when HIV destroys CD4 cells?
What happens when HIV destroys CD4 cells?
HIV destroys CD4 cells by using their replication machinery to create new copies of the virus. This ultimately causes the CD4 cells to swell and burst. When the virus has destroyed a certain number of CD4 cells and the CD4 count drops below 200, a person will have progressed to AIDS.
What happens when CD4 cells are destroyed?
And destruction of CD4 cells renders a patient vulnerable to unusual opportunistic infections (OIs) that are rarely seen in healthy humans. Most patients who die from AIDS succumb to one or more OIs.
Does HIV cause cell death?
HIV induces cell death in both uninfected and infected T cells. The mechanisms of uninfected T cell death during HIV infection have been reviewed extensively elsewhere [11].
What do CD4 T cells do?
CD4 T lymphocytes (CD4 cells) help coordinate the immune response by stimulating other immune cells, such as macrophages, B lymphocytes (B cells), and CD8 T lymphocytes (CD8 cells), to fight infection. HIV weakens the immune system by destroying CD4 cells.
What happens when CD4 count is low?
Key points. A low CD4 count means that HIV has weakened your immune system and may be making you ill. HIV treatment will strengthen your immune system and extend your life. While your CD4 count is low, you may also need to take antibiotics to prevent infections.
What is low CD4 cell count?
What kills CD4 cells?
During the last three decades, HIV virologists have sought to understand how HIV attacks and destroys its principal cellular target, the CD4 T lymphocyte. It is the death of this subset of lymphocytes that lies at the root of AIDS.
What happens when your CD4 count drops below 200?
With a CD4 count below 200 your body is vulnerable to opportunistic infections. These are infections the immune system can usually prevent on its own but with a low CD4 count the immune system is not able to fight them off. Opportunistic infections can be very serious and cause potentially life-threatening illnesses.
