Activation of TLR7/8-mediated signaling pathways upon treatment with either single-stranded RNA or the small molecule TLR7/8 agonist resiquimod (R-848) greatly reduced the ability of lymphoid tissue to support HIV infection, with the stage of anti-HIV action likely to be after virus-host cell membrane fusion but before DNA integration into the host genome. Here, TLR7 is linked to HIV infectious disease.