HIV Flashcards
HIV properties?
- retrovirus family, lentivirus genus- slow virus
- RNA, enveloped
- replication generations DNA provirus
- HIV1 related to chimpanzee strains (SIV)
- HIV2 derived from sooty mangabey strains
HIV-1?
- responsible for most cases of AIDS in US
- crossed species barrier 3 times
- subgroups (M, O, N)
- major group (M)
- subtypes (clades A-J) -genomes 25% unique
- circulating recombinant forms (CRFs)
- subtype B predominates in US - Group O (outlier)
- west central africa, very few cases - Group N (non-M, non-O)
- recombination between SIV and HIV-1
HIV-2?
- prevalent in west africa
- less virulent than HIV-1
- 5 subtypes (clades)
- HIV-2 infection provides some resistance to infection by HIV-1
Viral structure? (8)
- p24 capsid protein
- gp120- globular head
- gp160 is cleaved to form gp120 and gp41
- matrix protein
Essential genes for all retroviruses? (9)
see chart
-gag- encodes structural proteins
HIV genome? (10)
- envelope gene comes from one transcript (gp160)
- gag-pol transcript- encodes gag genes and polymerase genes, translated as polyproteins and then cleaved into individual proteins
HIV regulatory genes?
- increase virulence and efficiency of replication
1. tat- transactivates transcription of HIV genes
2. rev- regulates RNA splicing and promotes export of mRNA to cytoplasm
3. nef- reduces cell surface expression of CD4 and MHC 1, alters T cell signaling paths required to maintain high viral loads, essential for progression to AIDS
4. vif- promotes assembly, blocks cell antiviral protein that produces hypermutations during cDNA transcription
5. cpu- facilitates release of virus by inhibiting a cell protein that tethers virions to infected cell, decreases cell surface CD4
6. vpr- transports cDNA to nucleus, induces cell cycle arrest, may target DNA repair enzymes for degradation
Long terminal repeats (LTR)?
- at both ends of genome
- promoters, enhancers, and sequences used as binding sites by host transcription factors
- stimulation of infected cells by cytokines produces transcription factors that bind LTRs and activate transcription of viral mRNA
- activated T cells make more virus that resting T cells
HIV replication process? (14)
- viral attachment and entry
- genomic RNA reverse transcribed into DNA
- DNA enters nucleus and integrates in host chromosomes
- transcription/translation of genes from proviral DNA template
- assembly of premature particle and budding though plasma membrane
- maturation into infectious virus- protease cleaves viral proteins into individuals
HIV attachment and entry? (15)
- host cell coreceptors
- binds CD4 and affects CD4 T cells
- chemokine receptors (CCR-5, CXCR-4) - viral attachments
- gp120 binding - entry
- virus cell fusion at plasma membrane
- receptor mediated endocytosis- fusion at endosomal membrane
- mediated by gp41

Assembly to maturation?
- assembly at cell surface
- gag and gag-pol polyprotein precursors
- viral RNA genome - budding through cell membrane
- lipid envelope
- gp120 and gp41 - maturation into infectious virus
- HIV protease cleaves gag and gag-pol polyproteins into individual proteins
- protease inhibitors inhibit this processing so mature proteins are not produced
HIV infection of CD4 T cells?
- productive infection activated in CD4 T cells
- loss of CD4 T cells via direct HIV induced cell lysis or apoptosis, or CD8 mediated cell killing - nonproductive infection of resting CD4 T cells
- pre integration latency- short term HIV reservoir
- impaired reverse transcription results in accumulation of incomplete viral cDNA transcripts
- over time, buildup of cDNA transcripts trigger inflammatory form of cell suicide (pyroptosis) - post integration latency
- proviral DNA integrates into host chromosomes
- T cells differentiate into memory cells- long term HIV reservoir
Cells of monocyte macrophage lineage?
- hematopoietic stem cells
- may remain infected as it differentiates - dendritic cells can present HIV to CD4 T cells
- microglial cells- major target cell for HIV in CNS
- potentially important cell reservoirs for HIV
HIV infection of cells from monocyte-macrophage line?
- persistent low level productive infection
- resistant to cytopathic effect for HIV
- more resistant to apoptosis
- relatively long life span- cell reservoir for HIV - true latency or persistent productive infection?
- controverial but evidence supports true latency
- reports indicate macrophages contain unintegrated viral DNA that is stable for several months (pre integration latency)
- mechanisms associated with post integration latency are present in monocytes/macrophages
Viral reservoirs?
- short term
- extracellular virus particles trapped on follicular dendritic cells
- pre integration latency in resting CD4 T cells (half life may be too short)
- productive persistent infections of monocyte macrophage lineage
- latent infection true not clear - long term
- post integration latency in memory CD4 T cells
Evolution of HIV during infection?
- early stages of infection- R5 viruses
- macrophage tropic- previous designation
- responsible for majority of viral transmission
- binds CCR5 chemokine receptors
- noncytopathic nonsyncytia inducing strains (NSI) - R5 viruses persist throughout infection
- quasi species appear after viremia peaks
- closely related viral genomes
- result of point mutations with viral genome - late stages of infection- X4 virus
- occurs in 50% of patients
- binds CXCR4 chemokine receptors
- syncytia inducing strains (SI), more cytopathic
- involves acquiring point mutations in env gene
- T cell tropic- previous designation - some viruses use both coreceptors (R5X4)
- occurs in late stage patients
Variability of HIV?
- quasi species are result of rapid replication and high mutation rate
- RT is error prone - host immune response and anti retroviral therapy leads to selection pressure for mutations
- resistant to anti microbial
- avoidance of immune response- escape mutants
- CD8 T cells and antibody escape mutants can arise 7-10 days after a CD8 T cell or antibody response detected
Acute infection?
- typically 2-4 weeks after exposure
- mononucleosis like syndrome
- T cell proliferation to try to clear virus
- viral levels in blood drop, but virus is not completely cleared
- virus persists in lymph nodes
- microglial cells in CNS - typically associated with R5 virus
- 80% mucosal transmission- HIV infections are due to a single virus (founder virus)
- infection thought to result from single focus of HIV infected CD4 T cells CCR5 + T cells
- early immune response may recruit potential target cells to the site of infection - HIV binds to dendritic cells, taken to lymph nodes
- binding mediated by DC-SIGN
- presented to CD4 T cells
- HIV internalized by DCs
- with productive infection, released progeny virus spread to nearby CD4 T cells
- cell to cell spread from DCs to CD4 T cells - Loss of CD4 T cells within mucosal associated lymphoid tissue (especially GALT)
- extensive depletion of CD4+CCR5+ memory T cells in GALT
- low % of CD4 T cells in GALT become productively infected and are directly killed by HIV mediated cytolysis/apoptosis
- many resting CD4 T cells are killed indirectly by pyroptosis
- 80% of CD4 T cells in GALT are depleted in 1st 3 weeks of HIV infection
- CD4 T cell counts return to normal levels in blood, but not in GALT - virus incompletely cleared by immune response- viral set point
Loss of CD4 T cells?
- highest rate of CD4 T cells death occurs during primary infection
- HIV induced cytolysis correlates with CD4 levels on cells
- monocytes express less CD4 on their surface than T cells and are less easily killed (persistent, productive) - X4 viruses are more cytopathic than R5 viruses
- cell mediated killing
- clears productively infected cells, not latently infected cells
Host response to infection? (28)
- initial viral replication (red)
- increase cell mediated cells, clear some virus, viral set point (yellow)
- antibodies generated
Antibody response?
- seroconversion- 2 weeks to 6 months after exposure
- neutralizing antibody prevents infection of additional cells but:
- initial antibody response to gp120/gp41 is non neutralizing
- neutralizing antibodies are not detected until 12 weeks post infection
- broad specificity neutralizing antibodies to conserved env epitopes are rare and occur late (20-30 months after transmission)
T cell response?
- CD8 T cell response 1st detected as viremia peaks
- CD8 T cells clear founder virus, replaced by escape mutants - T cell response to conserved epitopes lowers viral set point
- escape mutants may require compensatory mutations and typically have reduced viral fitness - some HLA types are associated with slow progression of infection
- have T cells that recognize conserved epitopes
- quasispecies evolve slowly and escape mutants are less fit - CD8 T cells produce cytokines that block binding of virus to receptor
- cytokines can also activate transcription factors that enhance HIV replication - a successful immune response will eliminate infected CD4 T cells, resulting in:
- immunosuppression and increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections
- a drop of CD8 T cells (since they are activated by CDf T cells)
Why the loss of CD4 T cells results in immunosuppression? (32)
- CD4 TH17 responses activating neutrophils and protecting mucosal sites are depleted first
- loss of TH1 responses diminishes activation of CD8 T cells and macrophages
Clinical progression of disease? (33)
- acute infection
- clinical latency
- AIDS related complex (ARC)
- AIDS
Clinical latency?
- immune response limits the productive infection, but doesn’t eliminate it
- productive infection still occurs (lymph nodes)
- steady state viral load until T cells are depleted (viral set point) - persistent low level productive infection
- macrophages, DCs - latent infection
- memory T cells, unstimulated CD4 T cells
- possible monocyte lineage cells including hematopoietic stem cells
- can reactivate productive infection
- note: clinical latency in HIV individuals is not the same as viral latency at cell level
ARC vs AIDS?
- AIDS related complex (ARC)
- lymphadenopathy, fever, weight loss, malaise
- opportunistic infections, diarrhea, fatigue - AIDS
- CD4 T cells count less than 200/1, AIDS defining illness
- HIV wasting syndrome
- Kaposi sarcoma
- opportunistic infections
- HIV associated dementia (HAD)