AIDS Allergy and Rheumatology

The AIDS epidemic, which began in the early 1980s, is still ongoing and has touched all aspects of our society. The study of this retroviral infection has significantly expanded our understanding of the immune system. The early observation that patients infected with the AIDS showed a decrease in the number of their CD4 + lymphocytes led investigators to unravel the role that the CD4 + lymphocyte plays in the activation of the immune response and how the loss of T-cell regulation affects B-lymphocyte function. Later, the observation that the macrophage—an antigen-presenting cell to the CD4 + lymphocyte—was a reservoir for the AIDS virus furthered our understanding of critical functions of the macrophage in immune recognition in health and disease. The lessons we have learned about the immune system are still forthcoming. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.