HIV also known as human immunodeficiency virus is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection, making a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. HIV can be spread through various ways. Some of the common ways are contracting with bodily fluids of a person having HIV, most commonly during unprotected sex, or through sharing injection, drug equipment, etc. HIV is one the deadliest disease that weakens our immune system.
When a foreign substance enters our body, similar to how other viruses do, the immune system detects it as “non-self” and initiates an immunological response, which is made up of a variety of cells, tissues, and organs that cooperate to recognise, combat, and eradicate that foreign substance. The body’s immune system is under attack by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which may result in autoimmune deficiency syndrome if untreated (AIDS).
According to a recent research, HIV virus initially enters the body through Immune cells like dendritic cells come in contact with the outside world and protect our bodies from pathogens defending us from illnesses. The dendritic cells are the ones responsible for processing foreign proteins, molecules or particles, and presenting them to the immune system T-cells which act as messengers and initiate the immune response.
A critical element that helps the dendritic cells recognize and bind to the virus is a group of membrane proteins that distinguish between self and non-self. Siglec-1 is one such protein that plays a key role in the early stages of HIV infection specifically in the capture and transmission of the virus.
Meanwhile, when HIV enters the body initially it encounters the mucosal surfaces and binds to various molecules. Then, dendritic cells expressing Siglec-1 can capture and transmit the virus to other cells, initiating an immune response. But in this transportation journey, HIV-1 viruses can also use the dendritic cells as vehicles to infect the helper T-cells, also known as CD4 cells, spreading the infection further in a process known as trans-infection.