A reaction-diffusion within-host HIV model with cell-to-cell transmission (Q1750655)

A reaction-diffusion system of three equations is proposed to model within-host HIV spreading. This model incorporates cell mobility, spatial heterogeneity and cell-to-cell transmission, which depends on the diffusion ability of the infected cells. In the case of a bounded domain, the basic reproduction number \(R_0\) is established and shown as a threshold: the virus free steady state is globally asymptotically stable if \(R_0 < 1\), and the virus is uniformly persistent if \(R_0 > 1\). In the case of an unbounded domain and \(R_0 > 1\), the existence of the traveling wave solutions is proved and the minimum wave speed is obtained. These results are obtained by using Schauder fixed point theorem, limiting argument, LaSalle's invariance principle, and one-side Laplace transform. Theoretical results are illustrated by numerical simulations.