SUMMARY:
For more than twenty years comprehensive research has been focusing on the pathogenesis of HIV infection. In this multifactorial complex a crucial role is played, in addition to virological aspects, by the mechanisms of the host immune system. The paper focuses primarily on the roleof T lymphocytes and of antigen presenting cells - macrophages and dendritic cells - in HIV infection. It also discusses the control of HIV infection using neutralizing antibodies and HIV-1 specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes and CD4+ T lymphocytes.