Since CD4+ T cells expressing chemokine receptor CCR6, a marker for Th17 lineage polarization, are found to be more permissive to HIV-1 infection (47, 48), the cellular metabolism could be hijacked by the virus to promote infection-favoring differentiation, i.e. promoting CD4+ T cell differentiation towards more virus-susceptible lineage such as Th17. Here, CD4 is linked to infection.