HIV-1 dynamics in vivo: Virion clearance rate, infected cell life-span, and viral generation time

A new mathematical model was used to analyze a detailed set of human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) viral load data collected from five infected individuals after the administration of a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 protease. Productively infected cells were estimated to have, on average, a life-span of 2.2 days (half-life t(1/2) = 1.6 days), and plasma virions were estimated to have a mean life-span of 0.3 days (t(1/2) = 0.24 days). The estimated average total HIV-1 production was 10.3 x 10(9) virions per day, which is substantially greater than previous minimum estimates. The results also suggest that the minimum duration of the HIV-1 life cycle in vivo is 1.2 days on average, and that the average HIV-1 generation time-defined as the time from release of a virion until it infects another cell and causes the release of a new generation of viral particles-is 2.6 days, These findings on viral dynamics provide not only a kinetic picture of HIV-1 pathogenesis, but also theoretical principles to guide the development of treatment strategies.