Theory of an immune system retrovirus.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; formerly known as human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus, HTLV-III/LAV), the retrovirus that infects T4-positive (helper) T cells of the immune system, has been implicated as the agent responsible for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome. In this paper, I contrast the growth of a "normal" virus with what I call an immune system retrovirus: a retrovirus that attacks the T4-positive T cells of the immune system. I show that remarkable interactions with other infections as well as strong virus concentration dependence are general properties of immune system retroviruses. Some of the consequences of these ideas are compared with observations.