Reassessing the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Life Cycle through Age-Structured Modeling: Life Span of Infected Cells, Viral Generation Time, and Basic Reproductive Number,R0

• DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01799-08
• Publication Date: 2009-05-21T00:46:31Z
• Authors: Christian L. Althaus; Anneke S. De Vos; Rob J. De Boer
• Keywords: Life span; Viral life cycle

ABSTRACT The rapid decay of the viral load after drug treatment in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has been shown to result from loss cells due their high turnover, a generation time around 2 days. Traditionally, dynamics is investigated using models differential equations which both death rate and production are assumed be constant. Here, we describe age-structured rates depend on age cells. In order investigate effects age-dependent rates, compared these earlier descriptions fitted them previously published data. We have found no supporting evidence that infected-cell increase, but cannot reject possibility particular, demonstrate an exponential increase perfectly consistent Since can compensate for cells, HIV-1-infected may higher than anticipated. discuss implications findings life span time, basic reproductive number, R 0 .