Single-Cell Sequencing Facilitates Elucidation of HIV Immunopathogenesis: A Review of Current Literature

Abstract

Knowledge gaps remain in the understanding of HIV disease establishment and progression. Scientists continue to strive in their endeavor to elucidate the precise underlying immunopathogenic mechanisms of HIV-related disease, in order to identify possible preventive and therapeutic targets. A useful tool in the quest to reveal some of the enigmas related to HIV infection and disease is the single-cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) technique. With its proven capacity to elucidate critical processes in cell formation and differentiation, to decipher critical hematopoietic pathways, and to understand the regulatory gene networks that predict immune function, scRNA-seq is further considered to be a potentially useful tool to explore HIV immunopathogenesis. In this article, we provide an overview of single-cell sequencing platforms, before delving into research findings gleaned from the use of single cell sequencing in HIV research, as published in recent literature. Finally, we describe two important avenues of research that we believe should be further investigated using the single-cell sequencing technique.