Nef- HIV-1 as the main orchestrator of the cellular dysfunction in the immunopathogenesis of the HIV-1 infection

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) is one of the most studied viruses during the past three decades, their characterization has allowed to deepen in their pathogenic mechanisms and extrapolate to other viral infectious diseases, however their pathogenic mechanisms, and the knowledge of immune system dysfunction, remain unclear yet. Despite of the advances in this field there are still many unanswered questions, especially those that are associated with the immune response evasion mechanisms and the role of accessory proteins, such as Nef. In this review we show the most recent findings of the immunopathogenic mechanism of the infection and the role of Nef as a modulator of the immune response based on their functional domains.