Lecture 21 - AIDS Flashcards
What causes AIDS?
HIV causes AIDS
How is HIV transmitted?
- Primarily through bodily fluids
- Route of entry is through mucosal surfaces of genital and GI tract
What does HIV affect in the immune system?
- CD4 T cells
- Monocytes/Macrophages
- Dendritic cells
How does HIV replicate?
- Cell:cell spread via virological synapse
- The rate of replication is rapid
What is the HIV genome like?
- 9 overlapping genes
- 3 gene products
What are the three different levels of time progression from HIV to AIDS? [3]
- Progressors
- Viraemic controllers
- Elite controllers
How is the AIDS progression of ‘preogressors’?
- High viral set-point - Progress to AIDS most quickly
How is the AIDS progression of ‘Viraemic controllers’?
- Low viral set-point
- Progress to AIDS more slowly
How is the AIDS progression of ‘Elite controllers’?
- Control virus to extremely low levels
- Does not progress to AIDS
Which genes are associated with faster progression of HIV?
- Homozygous HLA class I
- HLA-B35
Which genes are associated with slower progression of HIV?
- HLA-B57
- HLA-B27
What gene is associated with a high resistance to HIV infection?
CCR5^(delta32)
What kind of Anti-retroviral drugs can be used to treat HIV?
- Viral protease inhibitors
- Reverse transcriptase inhibitors
- Integrase inhibitor
- Fusion inhibitor
- Co-receptor binding inhibitors
What is HAART?
- Combination therapy
- Use drugs that operate different mechanisms
What are the main drawbacks to combination therapy?
- Cost and availability
- Compliance
- Side-effects
What can failure to maintain drug treatment lead to?
Rebound of the virus and return to loss of CD4+ T cells
Whay is the main role for HAART?
- To delay the progression of HIV to AIDS
- Decreasing the chances of transmission
How can early intervention help to avoid latency?
Introduce ART straight after birth
How does ‘Shock and Kill’ help to combat latency?
- Activating the hidden virus
- Exposing the hidden virus to anti-retroviral drug therapy
