Novel mechanism for the impairment of cell proliferation in HIV-1 infection.

The synthesis of ribonucleotides is essential to cell proliferation. Defects in the relevant metabolic pathways have been demonstrated in stimulated T cells from AIDS patients and are associated with lymphocyte necrotic death. Here, Margarita Bofill and colleagues discuss the possibility that an impaired ribonucleotide metabolism might be common to all rapidly dividing cells and thus contribute to other recognized symptoms of HIV-1 infection.