6.5 The body's response to HIV and AIDS

Question 1

AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

Answer 1

A collection of disease symptoms relating to the
same cause, damage to the immune system
caused by HIV. AIDS involves a number of
opportunistic infections.

Question 2

Reverse transcriptase

Answer 2

An enzyme that catalyses
the conversion of RNA to DNA. Transcription
is the process in which the genetic information
contained in a DNA molecule is used to produce
a molecule of mRNA, so reverse transcription is
the opposite, producing DNA from RNA.
Reverse transcriptase catalyses this process.
Retroviruses such as HIV carry their genetic
information in the form of RNA. When it infects
a host cell, virus reverse transcriptase is used to
produce viral DNA.

Question 3

Integrase

Answer 3

An enzyme that inserts virus DNA

into the host cell DNA.

Question 4

Glycoprotein

Answer 4

A protein molecule with a

polysaccharide attached.

Question 5

Opportunistic infection

Answer 5

An infectious disease
(e.g. tuberculosis) that takes advantage of
someone having a weakened immune system
(e.g. because they are severely infected with
HIV) to establish.