Chemokine Receptors and Genetic Variability

Abstract
Advances in medicine and public health frequently occur in leaps rather than increments. For example, new therapeutic regimens that dramatically reduce viral replication,1 combined with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA assays that measure circulating virus and predict the clinical course of HIV-1 infection,2 have led to marked decreases in mortality from the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United States.3 Equally dramatic strides have recently been made in our understanding of how HIV-1 enters cells and how human genetic variability affects susceptibility to infection and clinical prognosis.