Relative contribution of free-virus and synaptic transmission to the spread of HIV-1 through target cell populations

Human immunodeficiency virus can spread through target cells by transmission of cell-free virus or directly from cell-to-cell via formation of virological synapses. Although cell-to-cell transmission has been described as much more efficient than cell-free infection, the relative contribution of the two transmission pathways to virus growth during multiple rounds of replication remains poorly defined. Here, we fit a mathematical model to previously published and newly generated in vitro data, and determine that free-virus and synaptic transmission contribute approximately equally to the growth of the virus population.