hinde@tank.uchicago.edu (R.J. Hinde) (02/09/90)
In article <31599@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> denbeste@ursa-major.spdcc.com (Steven Den Beste) writes: >The virus has no active propulsion system, but relies solely on >turbulence to bring it into contact with T4 cells, which it then invades. If >there are a million times as many anti-HIV antibodies as T4 cells then the >virus is much more likely to touch one of THEM (and stick, deactivating the >virus) first. I thought that it was pretty well established that HIV can be directly transferred between T4 cells as they brush up against one another in the bloodstream. This is another obstacle to finding a cure for HIV infection, since you have to locate all of the infected T4 cells and destroy them. You can't depend on the presence of some substance in the bloodstream to eradicate the virus.