Essay on An Analysis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus

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

Dr. N.A.S states that one of the antiretrovirals blocks translation of RNA into the proteins required to make new viruses. Some of the current antiretrovirals include reverse transcriptase, fusion and entry, protease, and integrase inhibitors;6,10 however there is not an inhibitor that blocks translation of rna into proteins on the market. Targeting inhibitors specific to HIV has made ARVs increasingly effective and less harmful to humans.

HIV and AIDS have affected millions of people throughout the world. Since 1981, there have been 25 million deaths due to AIDS involving men, women, and children. Presently there are 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS around the world and two million die each year from AIDS related illnesses. The Center for Disease Control estimates that one-third of the one million Americans living with HIV are not aware that they have it. The earliest known case of HIV was in 1959. It was discovered in a blood sample from a man in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Looking further into the genetics of this blood sample researchers suggested that it had originated from a virus going back to the late 1940’s or early 1950’s. In 1999,

Within 3 years the causative virus was identified. It was initially known by various names such as Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV –III), Lymphadenopathy associated virus (LAV), Aids associated retro virus (ARV). In 1986 the name Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) became internationally accepted. There are two kinds of HIV viruses: HIV-1 (US, Europe and Central Africa) and HIV-2 (West Africa). Both types have same mode of transmission and are diagnosed using same tests. The main difference is that HIV-2 has a slower disease course.

Finally, in 1983, two separate research teams, lead by Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier of the Pasteur Institute in isolated a retrovirus that was the true infectious agent responsible for the development of AIDS. Gallo’s team named the virus HTLV-III and Montagnier’s team coined it as LAV, or lymphadenopathy-associated virus. Later, it was discovered that the two viruses were exactly the same; it was renamed as Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and Gallo and Montagnier now share the credit its discovery.

The human immunodeficiency virus, known more commonly as HIV or by the syndrome it ultimately leads to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDs, is caused by a RNA retrovirus.1 Morphologically, the virus appears spherical in shape and is enveloped made from two layers – both being primarily built using lipids taken from host cell membranes.2 Specifically, human cell membranes are taken up by the virus as it buds from the host cell2 after the host cell approaches death from the inability to meet its own physiological needs. Likewise, because the hosts’ membrane coats or more accurately ‘envelopes’ the virus, the hosts’ proteins are embedded within the membrane and on the membrane’s surface as well.2 However, the last essential

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a retrovirus originally encoded in ribonucleic acid or RNA (Fraser et al., 2008). HIV virions travel through the blood stream and other bodily fluids in order to infect

HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, was first discovered by CDC in 1981 [3], then described as HTLV-III in 1983 and was later changed into its current name. Ever since its emergence, this virus has caused millions of infections throughout the world, with most of the cases originating in the African region [1]. This retrovirus has made it difficult in the past for scientists to treat it since it changes its RNA once inside the cell to DNA, through the enzyme reverse transcriptase, and keeps changing its genetic information making it difficult to target a specific genome. The main concern of HIV is the development into AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Disorder, which targets the body’s own T-cells through targeting the CD4 and co-receptors leading to various opportunistic infections and, eventually, death.

Diseases and their correlating outbreaks has been a factor of humankind since our debut on the world stage millions of years ago. When you look in depth at the death rates several common factors appear: wars, genocide, famines, weather and epidemics. While countless cultures and their people have continued to evolve over the century’s human nature and the epidemics stay the same and has even gotten much worse. Looking in depth you can find many great epidemics that have dominated over the years and taken out many people ranging from the black plague to Tuberculosis to the latest disease Ebola . However while Ebola gets all the notoriety and publicity there are several other epidemics are still around having a much more prolonged impact. One of these has been around for decades and at one point in time causes as much fear and panic as Ebola does now: the HIV/AIDS virus.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV, is the causative agent of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Currently, there are two types of HIV isolated, HIV-1 and HIV-2, which are both retroviruses and able to perform reverse transcriptase (Leboffe 2011). While HIV-1 is spread throughout the world, HIV-2 is confined to West Africa and is better protective against the progression to AIDS. Genome of HIV-1 only contains nine genes. It is transmitted by body fluids such as blood, breast milk, semen, and vaginal secretions. Its mode of transmission is via contaminated blood either by, IV drug use, sexual transmission, mother to child, blood transfusion or occupational risk. It infects 34 million people in a year worldwide, with approximately 1.8 million death. In the United States, the population infected with HIV is approximately 1.2 million people and one out of five people are unaware of the infection. Human Immunodeficiency Virus is the causative agent of HIV disease. It is 9.3 Kb positive sense RNA virus and 100 nm in diameter. HIV has no animal reservoirs and only infects humans (Leboffe 2011).

Aside from getting HIV from chimpanzees, HIV can also be obtained through unprotected sex, using an unsterilized needle, childbirth, breastfeeding, or blood to blood contact. Once inside the bloodstream the HIV virus will infect certain white blood cells, primarily the CD4 T cells. The HIV’s outer envelope consist of glycoproteins that mutates frequently, causing the CD4 T cells to not recognize the virus as a threat (_). The CD4 T cells will then allow the virus to bind its GP120 onto the Help T cell receptor/coreceptor, also known as CCR5. After binding to its host cell the virus transmembrane (GP41) will then pull the virus closer to the host cell, ultimately allowing the virus to fuse into the host cell. Once fused, the virus nucleocapsid will then enter into the cell and release two viral RNA strands and three replication enzymes: reverse transcriptase, integrase, and protease. The virus will then replicate and migrate to other white blood cells, infecting and killing the cells. HIV infection will advance through three stages

The HIV virus could possibly have been spread from a type of ape in Africa that contracted the animal version of HIV, called SIV, and infected humans when they hunted the ape, then changed from SIV into HIV after mutation. The virus then, throughout the years, spread to US and caused KS. nearly forty percent of people with HIV developed KS in the 1980’s and the disease became the face of HIV. Dr. Robert Gallo from NIH discovered the cause of HIV and how to diagnose it in April of 1984. Gallo stated that the HTLV-III virus is most likely the cause of HIV/Aids.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1983, was an early report of a new disease discovered by both French virologist Luc Antoine Montagnier of the Pasteur Institute of Paris and Dr. Robert Gallo of the National Cancer Institute in Washington. The virus was at first named HTLV-III/LAV which is (human T-cell lymphotropic virus-type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus) by an international scientific committee. The name was later changed to HIV Human immunodeficiency virus. Since the early 1980s, Human immunodeficiency virus was identified as a retrovirus as the cause of AIDS.1

Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV is a virus that no one wants to talk about. Due to lacking media attention, judgment, and ignorance, many people are not knowledgeable about the virus. In the 1980s people became aware of the HIV virus because of the epidemic that arose, but many people didn’t react appropriately to it. One of the reasons there was not a huge reaction was because nobody was aware of the disease. However, scientist soon discovered that everyone was susceptible to the virus. One of the original thoughts of HIV, was that it came from Africa, originating from West African monkeys. Along string of this virus was found and

HIV-1 unique trespassing method and integration in the host cells makes the virus a rigorous parasite for the immune system to detect and defend its self from the virus. By understanding the life cycle of the virus, we can understand its success rate of reproduction under millions of regulatory immune cells. After been introduced into the host body, by sexual transmission or breaking of the skin, we can begin to follow the beginning stages of HIV, which would lead to AIDS without proper