The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Degie Gelaw
American Sentinel University
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are public health threats that require comprehensive, organized, and evidence-based control and prevention programs. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine formerly known as the Institute of Medicine (IOM) appointed a 19-member multidisciplinary expert council to study the emergence of microbial threats to health and published a report in the United States about emerging infections (1992). The report cited there were six factors that influenced the emergence and re-emergence of infectious pathogens: “Technology and industry; Economic development and land use;
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Further, a strain of SIV discovered in a chimpanzee in 1991 that was identical to HIV lead researchers to conclude HIV came from chimpanzees (Levy, 1993) and was determined those who died from the strange infection of pneumocystis pneumonia had HIV infection (Magnus, 2009).
Pathogenesis and Occurrence of HIV
HIV, a lentivirus causes AIDS through interaction of the different cells in the body mainly the cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) molecules on cells and other cellular receptors (Levy, 1993) particularly responsible for the host’s immune system. Once HIV entry has occurred, the virus starts to destroy the host’s CD4 cells and replicates using an enzyme called reverse transcriptase and converting its ribonucleic acid (RNA) into a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) (Heymann, 2015). In addition, the ability for the HIV to break the long chains of protein that form the virus using an enzyme protease promote viral replication in the same manner as the body’s own immune system.
“With CD4+ lymphocytes, HIV replication can cause syncytium formation and cell death; with other cells, such as macrophages, persistent infection can occur, creating reservoirs for the virus in many cells and tissues” (Levy, 1993, p. 205). Therefore, HIV-infected cells are present throughout the body in the blood
CD4 is a glycoprotein found on the surface of immune cells such as T helper cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. HIV infects cells of the immune system called T lymphocytes (T cells) and macrophages. HIV has an envelope and contains two copies of single-stranded RNA as the genome. Within the viral capsid are important viral enzymes called reverse transcriptase, integrase, and protease. The HIV virus has a spike protein that is called gp120, and the host cell receptor is CD4+. HIV belongs to a class of viruses called retroviruses. Retroviruses are RNA viruses, and to replicate or reproduce, they must make a DNA copy of their RNA through transcription and translation. It is the DNA genes that allow the
b. HIV is an incurable disease that relies on coreceptors to initiate host cell interaction and proliferates by utilizing the host cell’s own machinery to reproduce new virus. We will more deeply explore the mechanism in which HIV virions infiltrate and deceive our host cell. In addition, we will discuss current treatment and research that are in the process of finding a highly coveted cure.
Description: HIV, also known as human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the immune system allowing the patient's body to not be able to protect itself. “HIV attacks and destroys the infection-fighting CD4 cells of the immune system. The loss of CD4 cells makes it difficult for the body to fight infections and certain cancers. Without treatment, HIV can gradually destroy the immune system and advance to AIDS” (National Health Institute). The disease was believed to originated in the Congo during the 1900’s, but now is present
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is serious public health problem worldwide. HIV weakens a person’s immune system by infecting the body’s T cells. ("About HIV/AIDS | HIV Basics | HIV/AIDS | CDC", 2016) HIV also attacks and kills CD4 white blood cells, which play an important role in protecting the body from infections. ("Immune System 101", 2016)
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects the cells of the immune system. In particular, HIV attacks and destroys the T helper lymphocytes, or T-cells, which are crucial to the immune system and immune response. (These cells are also called CD4-positive lymphocytes because HIV uses the protein CD4, present on the surface of the cell, to attach itself and pry its way into the cell.) Each day, your body produces millions of CD4+ T-cells to help maintain your immunity and fight off invading viruses and germs. Once HIV is in your body, the virus is able to copy itself over and over, increasing its ability to kill CD4+ T-cells. Soon, infected cells outnumber healthy T-cells.
The prospects for effective management of individuals with HIV are early dictation of the disease and identification and implementation of an evidence-based intervention that will slow the advancement of HIV to deleterious outcomes (Vervloet, Linn, Van Weert, de Bakker, Bouvy, & Dijik, 2012). HIV is a pandemic and pervasive disease that is associated with extensive mortality and morbidity. In the 1980s, HIV has claimed the lives of 33 million individuals’ and 35 million individuals are presently living with the disease nationwide. HIV attacks humans’ protective systems, and then replicates itself. As a result of this replication, the body cells thereby overwhelm the T-cells or the CD4
The Human Immune system is made up of a variety of chemical and cellular components that are classified as either innate or adaptive immunity. The cellular immune response to the bubonic plague is carried out through the innate response as the bacterium is able to avoid the adaptive response by infecting macrophages in the host’s body. Similarly, the immune response to HIV infection is not able to reach the adaptive response, as the virus infects the body and destroys vital CD4 cells which in turn damage the immune system itself. Furthermore, the immune system relies heavily on the action of B and T cells, which are antigen-specific cellular immune responses to battle the HIV virus. Though it is unable to completely rid the host of the virus,
The immune system, which is the part of the body that protects against diseases, viruses, bacteria, cancerous cells, and fungi, contains white blood cells. White blood cells are the central part of the defense and produce several types of cells. CD4+ lymphocytes, one type of white blood cells, identify disease-causing agents and then warn another type of blood cells, B cells, to develop antibodies. The antidotes then constrain the recognized disease-carrying agents and type of white blood cells, killer T cells, destroy them. Since viruses have to live in the host cells, HIV invades CD4+cells, replicates itself, resulting in the death of the cell in 112 days. The reproduced bacteria then infect the other cell and soon enough the number
HIV attacks the body’s immune system, by destroying CD4 cells also knows as T cells, that are a type of white blood cells that help the body immune system fight off infections. T cells have proteins that helps the HIV virus bind. If HIV is left untreated, it can reduce the numbers of infected CD4 cells in the body, making the person's more prone to infections ("CD4 Count, HIV, and AIDS: Test and Results -- What They Mean," n.d.). Over time, HIV can completely destroy these cells and the body can no longer fight off infectious disease. When the body begins losing its ability to fight infections and the CD4 cell
The molecular pathway of HIV is similar to most viruses as it begins it’s cycle during the transfer of bodily fluids from one infected person to another non infected person. Once this occurs HIV must attempt to cross the cell layer this can occur through tears in the skin or open wounds. The chance of this happening depends on the viral load or the amount of exposure. Once crossing the cell layer the virus comes into contact with immune cells which attempt to destroy the viruses. These immune cells or CD4 cells serve as the host cells for HIV. The host cell can be a variety of immune cells such as macrophages, dendritic, t helper cells and perhaps most importantly damage B cells. The damage of B cells is significant because they are memory cells that essentially store the recipes to make antibodies to various diseases and viruses they have been exposed to in the past. The immune cells attempt to take up the viruses and destroy them. However, a gene called Vpu facilitates the production of the a protein that prevents immune cells from being able to destroy it. Vpu prevents the destruction of itself by the immune system which then allows them to invade the host cell. Once inside the cell the virus begins its cycle and unpacks its genetic information. Then the process
Human immunodeficiency virus is most commonly known as HIV.18 It debilitates a person’s immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection. It can spread through certain body fluids that assault the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells often called T cells.1 These essential cells help the immune system fight off infections.1 Untreated, HIV reduces the number of CD4 cells in the body.1 The damage brought on by HIV to the immune system makes it extremely difficult for the body to fight off infections and diseases. Eager infections or cancers take advantage of a very weak immune system and signal that the person has AIDS. No effective cure exists for HIV. Scientists identified a type of chimpanzee in
HIV is one of the most feared diseases around the globe since its “discovery” in 1981. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus and is caused by Lentivirus, which is a subgroup of Retroviridae (Douek et al. 2009). HIV is one of the more dangerous diseases known because there is currently no known cure and will infect roughly 50,000 people in the United States alone each year (CDC 2016). HIV is a terrible disease that has taken the world by storm. While originally only known as a homosexual disease, that false perception has been shattered as the disease continued to spread. The origin of HIV is not entirely known, though there is strong evidence to support the idea that it originated in a chimpanzee in West Africa. They
HIV primarily targets components of the human immune system that express the CD4 protein as a surface receptor, such as CD4+ T cells, which are mature T helper cells that express the protein on their surface, macrophages, and dendritic cells. HIV gains entry into these cells through interaction of the virion’s gp120 protein with the CD4 receptor molecule on the target and also, secondarily, with chemokine co-receptors, including CCR5 and CXCR4.
It has been over 30 years since the first known cases of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) which is the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) was reported. HIV attacks and disables the body 's immune system. The virus attacks, the T lymphocyte (T cell), a type of white blood cell. Formed in the bone marrow the T cell helps the body fight off germs and diseases. Once HIV enters the body, it attacks this cell, copies itself and destroys the cell. Being HIV-positive indicates that a person has been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus but does not yet have AIDS. After the white blood cell is destroyed, the virus moves on to the next healthy cell.
HIV primarily attacks CD4+ helper T cells by recognizing and binding the CD4 receptor on the surface of the T cells. It can sometimes invade monocytes and macrophages as well since they also have some CD4 receptors on their surfaces. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are secreted at higher levels in infected individuals, and this may help activate the HIV proviruses (latent viruses). HIV has a high mutation rate during replication with the reverse transcriptase, which is why it is able to readily evade our immune response.