The pathological process of AIDS has been under the study of researchers all around the worlds for many years but still they are unable to fully understand the pathogenesis of AIDS. Although the success rate is not very fast but there has been a significant amount of development in this issue. Like any other disease, if the researchers are able to know the disease causing mechanism of HIV they will be able to develop more effective treatments and medicines to combat the virus and its adverse actions. HIV begins its pathogenesis by infecting the CD4+ cells. These cells are types of white blood cells responsible for securing the human immune system to all types of infections. HIV infects the CD4+ cells in such a way that the glycoproteins present on the outer surface of HIV virus dock with the two proteins on a CD4+ cells.

This phenomenon results in the entrance of HIV into the cell and the virus remains undiscovered to the immune system. Within the CD4+ cell, HIV transforms the RNA genetic information into double stranded DNA and ultimately the CD4+ cell behaves like an HIV virus and performs the same function as of HIV virus. The main function it performs is the production of new HIV RNA which involves a complex process of producing new virus particles. The new particles produced repeat the same process in other CD4+ cells and ultimately the amount of CD4+ in the body start decreasing. Within two or three days, all the CD4+ cells infected with HIV die. As more CD4+ cells continue to be infected with HIV, the human immune system becomes weaker and weaker. Not only the CD4+ white blood cells are infected with the HIV but other white blood cells are also infected with HIV.

Although HIV virus causes a big destruction in the CD4+ cells but we cannot say that AIDS is the direct result of death of CD4+ cells. Because the infection of body with HIV leads to a series of biological reactions in the body which dysfunctions certain cells in human body but does not kill them. The dysfunction of these cells also makes the human immune system weaker. There might be other possible ways with which HIV can cause malfunctioning of human immune system but among most researchers it is said that decrease in the number of CD4+ cells due to HIV infection is the effective reason for the human immune system to become weaker.

Two of the most important biological markers used to determine whether a person is infected with HIV or not are the CD4+ cell count and the viral load of an HIV positive person. Both these quantities are taken into consideration before the treatment of a HIV infected person using antiviral drugs. Other physical parameters which can also give important information about the progression of HIV include long-lasting fevers, night sweats, weight loss, and diarrhea. HIV infected people are more prone to infections and the slow recovery from these infections is also considered one of the symptoms of HIV.

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