Lentivirus Tropism and Disease
Jodi K. Craigo and Ronald C. Montelaro
from: Lentiviruses and Macrophages: Molecular and Cellular Interactions (Edited by: Moira Desport). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2010)
Abstract
Lentiviruses are among the most intensely and extensively studied group of viruses. They are found worldwide and infect a broad array of animal species. Historically, lentiviruses have been investigated longer than any other virus group. The first viral etiology ascribed to an animal disease was a lentivirus. The diseases associated with lentiviral infections range from benign and subclinical to severely debilitating and lethal. The diverse group of viruses that compose the lentiviruses have many common and distinctive features. Among the common features is tropism for cells from the monocyte/macrophage lineage. Infection of macrophage affords this assorted group of viruses many evolutionary advantages, including a potential hiding place from the infected host's immune system read more ...
