Antivirals Flashcards
What are viruses?
Obligate intracellular parasites (rely on a host cell to reproduce)
How do viruses exist outside on infected cell?
Virions
How many proteins can viruses encode?
~4
What do virions consist of? (3)
dsDNA or ssDNA, lipid envelope (from host cell) and protein coat/capsid (both can contain antigenic glycoproteins
How big are virions approx?
1/100 of a bacterium
What is the viral range?
Group of cell types/species that virus can infect
What is a virus that only infects bacteria?
Bacteriophage
What are viruses that infect plants and animals?
Plant viruses and animal viruses
Can animal viruses infect other (cross) phyla?
No, but may affect closely related species
How are viruses classified? Diff categories?
Shape of capsid; helical, icosahedral, complex
What is pathogenicity?
Ability of viruses to cause disease (not all cause disease)
What is virulence?
Degree of pathogenicity (intensity of disease)
What is virus latency?
Ability to remain dormant in an organism
What is the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles?
Varicella zoster
How does chicken pox exhibit latency?
Can remain dormant in body and remerge later in life as shingles
What are people chronically infected and serve as reservoirs of infectious virus?
Carrriers
What are 4 stages of virus life cycle?
Absorption, penetration, replication, release
What determines virus range and initiation of infection process?
Proteins on surface of virus (antigen) that bind to protein receptors in host cell
What occurs once virus has access to host cytoplasm?
Viral DNA or RNA crosses pmemb to to cytoplasm or nucleus
What occurs to viral DNA or RNA once inside host cell?
Interacts w/ host machinery to translate DNA/RNA into viral proteins
What is the 4th stage of a viral life cycle (release)?
Newly synthesized virion particles are release to continue infection cycle
What are the 2 types of viruses?
RNA or DNA viruses, can be double stranded or single stranded
How does a DNA virus transcribe and translate its specific proteins in a host?
Viral DNA incorporates genome w/ host’s (in nucleus) and is transcribed into mRNA w/ host DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, mRNA in translated into viral proteins
Are DNA viruses usually ds or ss?
Double stranded
What are poxviruses able to do?
Can replicate in hosts cytoplasm as they carry their own DNA-dependent RNA pol (are a DNA virus)
What is required for viral genome REPLICATION?
DNA-dependent DNA pol (from host)
How does a RNA virus transcribe and translate its specific proteins in a host?
Require an RNA-depended RNA pol (RNA -> mRNA)
What are the 2 purposes of RNA-dependant RNA pol?
Transcriptase (transcribe mRNA) and replicase (replication)
Where do most RNA viruses complete their replication? Exception?
Host cell cytoplasm; influenza in nucleus
What are retroviruses?
Viruses that have RNA genome (ss) that directs DNA formation from RNA
What is reverse transcriptase?
Viral enzyme that turns viral RNA into DNA
What is reverse transcriptase aka?
RNA-dependent DNA pol