AIDS as immune system activation. Key questions that remain.

Immune system activation is gaining attention as a central part of HIV pathogenesis. Although there is no consensus yet as to the source of the signal or the result of the signalling, this line of thinking represents a significant shift in the paradigm away from considering HIV disease like any other cytopathic viral infection. Hopefully, completion of studies focussed on this approach will lead to more complete understanding of AIDS and more effective therapies, and will at least bring to the fore some of the central unanswered questions in modern cellular immunology.