Stimulation of IL-16 Release by Cells Exposed to HIV Virion Proteins

Background: The pathogenesis and immune response to a chronic viral infection is multifaceted especially for HIV infection. The effect of HIV on the systemic immunoenvironment of the infected individual is profound and triggered by multiple stimuli. While replication competent viral infection induces a large spectrum of immune responses, such as cytokine release, we focused on what happens when cells are exposed to replication incompetent virions and their components.