This resource offers comprehensive explanations of current theories on the pathogenesis of AIDS, examining in detail current data on the role that HIV and its possible cofactors play in the decline of immune system function and the progressive depletion of T lymphocytes. Information is provided on mycoplasmas - a potentially critical component in virus replication and immune activation.;Revealing research studies in support of the theoretical approaches presented, this volume: updates the mechanisms of HIV latency and activation of expression at both the viral and cellular levels in the human and primate systems; emphasizes the role of cytokines in the dysfunction of the immune and central nervous systems; describes the mechanisms of immune activation that result in anergy and programmed cell death involving the viral external glycoprotein and possible other foreign antigens or superantigens; and explicates original hypotheses on pathogenesis where virus glycoproteins may mimic allogenic stimulation and disturb the immune system network.;This reference is intended for immunologists, infectious disease specialists, microbiologists, virologists, molecular and cell biologists, parasitologists and pathologists.

Table of Contents:
"AIDS as a Viral Disease HIV-1 Latency and Activation in the Pathogenesis of AIDS, Salvatore T. Butera and Thomas M. Folks Determinants of HIV-1 Virulence in Vitro and In Vivo Localized in the Envelope V3 Domain, Jaap Goudsmit Membrane Expression of HIV Envelope Glycoproteins Triggers Apoptosis in CD4 Cells: A Direct Mechanism for T4 Cell Depletion Mediated by Virus Replication, Ara G. Hovanessian, Bernard Krust, Yves RiviEre, Sylviane Muller, Marie Paule Kieny, Charles Dauguet, and Anne G. Laurent-Crawford The Pathobiology of SIV Infection of Macaques, Patricia N. Fultz Cytokines and HIV Expression, Guido Poli, Audrey L. Kinter, and Anthony S. Fauci Experimental Model Systems for Studies of HIV-Associated CNS Disease, Howard E. Gendelman, Peter Genis, Marti Jett, Edward W. Bernton, Harris A. Gelbard, Therese A. Cvetkovich, Eliot S. Lazar, Manuel del Cerro, and Leon G. Epstein Mycoplasma as Cofactors in AIDS, Luc Montagnier AIDS as an Immunological Disease Effects of HIV on Signal Transduction Mechanisms, Anthony J. Pinching and Keith E. Nye Programmed Cell Death (Apoptosis) and AIDS, Jean Claude Ameisen Programmed Cell Death in HIV Infection and Correlation with AIDS Pathogenesis, Marie-Lise Gougeon, Sylvie Garcia, Jonathan Heeney, and Luc Montagnier Immunlogical and Virological Mechanisms of CD4+ T-Cell Depletion, Frank Miedema, Linde Meyaard, Marijke Roos, Sigrid Otto, Thijs Tersmette, and Peter Schellekens T-Cell-Receptor Repertoire in AIDS: New Insights into the Pathogenesis of the Disease, Luisa Imberti, Alessandra Sottini, Alessandra Bettinardi, Cinzia Mazza, and Daniele Primi Expression of Heat-Shock Proteins in HIV-1 Infection, Fabrizio Poccia, Roberta Placido, Giorgio Mancino, Francesca Mariani, Lucia Ercoli, Silvia Di Cesare, and Vittorio Colizzi Hypotheses of AIDS Pathogenesis GammaDelta T Cells in the Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection, Rita Rossol, George Geissler, and Dieter Hoelzer Autoreactivity and HIV Infection, Ryszard A. Hermaszewski, Elizabeth F. Hounsell, and Angus D. Dalgleish The Immune System Network and the Pathogenesis of AIDS, J. A. Habeshaw Allogeneic Lymphocytes as Cofactors in AIDS Pathogenesis and the Concept of Coselection, Geoffrey W. Hoffmann and Tracy A. Kion The Panergic Imnesia Hypothesis. Part I: Update of Current Findings, Michael S. Ascher and Haynes W. Sheppard The Panergic Imnesia Hypothesis. Part II: T-Cell Receptor Biology, AIDS, and Beyond, Haynes W. Sheppard and Michael S. Ascher "