Effectiveness of a 'hunter' virus in controlling human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection.

ABSTRACT: Engineered therapeutic viruses provide an alternative method for treating infectious diseases, and mathematical models can clarify the system's dynamics underlying this type of therapy. In particular, this study developed models to evaluate the potential to contain human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection using a genetically engineered 'hunter' virus that kills HIV-1-infected cells. First, we constructed a novel model for understanding the progression of HIV infection that predicted the loss of the immune system's CD4(+) T cells across time. Subsequently, it determined the effects of introducing hunter viruses in restoring cell population. The model implemented direct and indirect mechanisms by which HIV-1 may cause cell depletion and an immune response. Results suggest that t

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Ramos G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3052598 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature