Description
This review discusses the main current methods for monitoring immunological status and function in HIV-1 infected individuals, which are used as prognostic indicators and for research into immunopathogenic mechanisms. The bridge between academic research and routine clinical monitoring has been strengthened in the past 5 years by numerous large-scale immunotherapy and vaccine trials. Thus the requirement for accurate tests of immune function with direct clinical relevance has increased. However our continued lack of understanding of the nature of immune dysfunction in HIV-1 infection has, to some extent, resulted in a failure to meet this requirement, leaving clinical monitoring without sufficient measures of true function.
