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X4-Tropic VirusAudio (En español)

Also known as: T-Tropic Virus

A strain of HIV that enters and infects a host cell by binding to the CXCR4 receptor on the host cell. To enter a host cell, HIV must first attach to a CD4 receptor, then attach to either the CCR5 or CXCR4 receptor, and finally fuse its membrane with the host cell membrane. HIV is usually R5-tropic (uses CCR5) during the early stages of infection, but the virus may later switch to using either CXCR4 or both CCR5 and CXCR4.

See Related Term(s):  CD4 Receptor, CXCR4, Dual-Tropic Virus, R5-Tropic Virus