Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: Semin Immunopathol. 2022 Jul 26;44(5):709–724. doi: 10.1007/s00281-022-00953-5

Figure 3. CNS HIV Persistence and Mechanisms of Latency.

Figure 3.

There are many mechanisms by which HIV remains in a latent state in the CNS, including epigenetic modifications of HIV DNA, degradation of the HIV protein Tat, and transcriptional repressors of HIV. It is thought that HIV virus is largely T-cell tropic in the earlier stages of infection and resides in T lymphocytes. The inflammatory environment and specific selection pressures in the CNS can lead to a macrophage-tropic HIV virus later in infection that resides in the macrophages and microglia of the CNS. Created with BioRender.com.