Mullins Molecular Retrovirology Lab

  • Department of Microbiology
  • School of Medicine
  • University of Washington
University of Washington/Fred Hutch Center for AIDS Research

Citation Information

Nickle DC, Shriner D, Mittler JE, Frenkel LM, Mullins JI (2003). Importance and detection of virus reservoirs and compartments of HIV infection. Current opinion in microbiology, 6(4), 410-6. (pubmed)

Abstract

Current therapies for treating HIV-1 infection are capable of suppressing virus load in blood to undetectable levels, and result in marked clinical improvement. Despite this suppression, HIV-1 infection persists and virus load quickly rebounds when therapy is interrupted. The origin of the rebounding virus is unknown, but is thought to result from continuing viral replication in anatomic or cellular compartments, and the release of virus from latent infection in reservoirs.