Hiv acts by attaching to receptors on the surfaces of t-cells that aid other lymphocytes in fighting infection. once hiv is inside a cell, its rna is reverse-transcribed and its product dna is integrated into the host cell. it then directs the production of new virus particles. as time goes on the number of t-cells a) increases. b) decreases. c) stays the same. d) is unpredictable.