Analysis of an HIV model with immune responses and cell-to-cell transmission (Q2302045)

The authors formulate a model for the dynamics of HIV infection, including two routes of infection (cell-to-cell transmission and virus-to-cell infection), two types of adaptive immune responses (cellular and antibody immune response) and two intracellular delays (the eclipse phase and virus production period). Lyapunov functionals are constructed to prove that the global dynamics is completely determined by five reproduction numbers: depending on these threshold parameters, one of the five possible equilibria is globally asymptotically stable in each case. Using uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, the authors find that the reproduction numbers are most sensitive to the death rate of infected cells, viral clearance rate and immune parameters. By comparing their model to four different HIV models, the authors show that cell-to-cell transmission, immune responses and time delays significantly affect the dynamics. The analytical and numerical results may contribute to a better understanding of HIV dynamics. The model also raises possibilities for generalizations and further research, e.g. by including general nonlinear incidence functions.