Abstract
More than 40 years have passed since human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative
agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), was isolated in 1983. In the early days of
the epidemic, AIDS was feared as a deadly disease, but today, thanks to advances in anti-retroviral
drugs, many infected individuals can maintain their health as long as they take their medication.
Furthermore, advances in basic research have clarified why HIV is difficult to eliminate from the
body and how it causes immune deficiency in infected individuals. This paper outlines the progress
made over the past 40 years in the following areas: the discovery of HIV, HIV denialism, receptors
and co-receptors, biases in HIV isolation, broadly neutralizing antibodies, and understanding the
pathogenesis of AIDS.
