Viral dynamics of HIV-1 with CTL immune response

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate an in-host model for the viral dynamics of HIV-1 infection and its interaction with the CTL immune response. The model is sufficiently general to allow nonlinear forms for both viral infection and CTL response. Threshold parameters are identified that completely determine the global dynamics and outcomes of the virus-target cell-CTL interactions. Impacts of key parameter values for CTL functions and viral budding rate on the HIV-1 viral load and CD4 count are investigated using numerical simulations. Results support clinical evidence for important differences between HIV-1 nonprogressors and progressors.