Mechanism and consequence of viral persistence in cells of the immune system and neurons.

Viral persistence depends on a virus having a non-lytic strategy of replication and the ability to escape immune surveillance. Cells of the immune system (lymphocytes/monocytes/macrophages) and central nervous system (neurons) are most often infected by DNA and RNA viruses that persist. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are the primary host defense that aborts or prevents viral persistence. Viral interaction with these specialized cells and of such infected cells with CTL is explored in this paper.