Activated DCs can amplify HIV-1 infection within lymphoid tissues by continually picking up and trans-infecting HIV-1 during the ongoing immune battle, and preferential infection of HIV-1 specific CD4 T cells may be a consequence of stabilized DC-T cell immune synapse formation leading to increased opportunity to pass on HIV-1 infection, resulting in their accelerated depletion and consequent failure to control infection [69,70]. Here, CD4 is linked to infection.