What are CD4 cells and how does HIV attack the body?

CD4 cells, also known as T cells, are white blood cells that fight infection and play an important role in your immune system. A CD4 count is used to check the health of the immune system in people infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). HIV attacks and destroys CD4 cells.

Which CD4 cells are affected by HIV?

HIV infects a type of white blood cell in the body’s immune system called a T-helper cell (also called a CD4 cell). These vital cells keep us healthy by fighting off infections and diseases.

Can CD4 cells kill HIV?

Additional experiments revealed that the HIV-specific CD4 T cell responses showed activity associated with cell-killing and could even destroy HIV-infected macrophages — an unusual function for CD4 T cells, which have traditionally been seen as helper cells.

What is the relationship between CD4 cells and HIV?

CD4 cells are also a subset of immune cells called T cells. When a person is living with HIV, the virus attacks the CD4 cells in their blood. This process damages CD4 cells and causes a drop in the number of them in the body, making it difficult to fight infections.

What does CD4 mean?

In molecular biology, CD4 (cluster of differentiation 4) is a glycoprotein that serves as a co-receptor for the T-cell receptor (TCR). CD4 is found on the surface of immune cells such as T helper cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells.

Are CD4 cells white blood cells?

CD4+ cells are part of the immune system and are a type of white blood cell. White blood cells protect the body against infection. CD4+ cells are also called T-lymphocytes, T-cells, or T-helper cells.

Do CD4 T cells replicate?

Although CD4 memory T cells proliferated in response to antigen, they did not divide as efficiently as primary responding cells at later time points. This reduced proliferation was accompanied by a decrease in the percentage of cells making IL-2 and an increase in IFNγ production.

What cells express CD4?

CD4 is normally expressed on helper T cells, where it plays an important role in the recognition of MHC molecules on the surface of adjacent cells. However, it can also be expressed on many other hemopoietic cell types, including macrophages, eosinophils, neutrophils, and CD8+ T cells (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13).