Viruses Flashcards
What is the definition of a virus?
An obligate intracellular parasite meaning that it has a nucleic acid genome but relies on host cell machinery to replicate and proliferate (metabolic support)
What 5 emerging viruses are posing the largest global threat?
- Ebola
- Hantavirus
- HIV
- WNV
- Hep C
What is a bacteriophage?
A virus that infects bacterial cells
What is the general size range of viruses?
What is the smallest virus? the largest?
20-30nm (picornavirus)
300nm (poxvirus)
What eukaryotic cell organelle has a size similar to viruses? What does this tell us about the tools we need to use to see them?
Small viruses are about the size of ribosomes so you need to use electron microscopy to see them
What is a virion?
The extracellular structure that transmits the viral infection. It includes:
- nucleic acid core
- capsid
- envelope (sometimes)
- replication enzymes (sometimes)
What are the 3 different structures of DNA for viruses?
- ds Linear
- ds circular
- ss linear
What are the three different structures of RNA for viruses?
- or - sense
- segmented
- ds segmented
What is the difference between + and - sense RNA?
+ sense can encode mRNA to make proteins
- sense cannot encode proteins
What are the two structural possibilities for a viral capsid?
- icosahedral (20 equilateral triangle protomers) that give high structural integrity
- helical- identical protomers that wrap the viral nucleic acid forming elongated rods/flexible filaments
What percent of viruses are RNA viruses?
70%
Why are RNA viruses more likely than DNA viruses to make replication errors?
Why is this advantageous to the virus?
viral RNA polymerase lacks proofreading function so they make errors more frequently (10^-3 to 10^-4 per replication cycle)
This is advantageous because it increased viral diversity and makes it more therapy resistant
What does a - sense viral genome require that a + sense does not?
***Virion-associated polymerase activity
There are four major ways to classify the 21 families of viruses that infect animals. What are the four?
Which is the most useful parameter to classify viruses (not name, but classify)?
- Morphology (capsid structure, envelope)
- mode of replication
- epidemiolo (gy
- GENOMIC NUCLEIC ACID
a. DNA/RNA
b. nucleotide sequence homology
c. order of protein coding regions
Icosahedral capsids are insensitive to ___, ____, _____, and can persist ____________. What are four examples of icosahedral viruses?
pH, temperature, solvents and can persist outside the body’s environment
- Adenovirus
- poliovirus
- Hep A
- Hep E
What is the current nomenclature for viral classification?
Family/subfamily/genus/species/strain
The name we use is the species
What are the six steps in the viral lifecycle?
- Attachment to the cell
- Penetration into the cell
- Uncoating to make the genome accessible to cell machinery
- Replication and transcription/translation (SYNTHETIC EVENTS)
- Assembly of the virion of the progeny virus
- Release of the infection progeny
Where does most DNA virus synthetic activity occur? What is the exception to this?
In the nucleus.
Poxvirus is in the cytosol
Where does most RNA virus synthetic activity occur? What are the 2 exceptions?
Cytosol except influenza virus and retrovirus
What cells would not be susceptible to infection by a virus?
Those that lack receptors for the viral anti-receptors (virion proteins). If the virus can’t attach, it cannot penetrate, uncoat, etc.
Attachment of a virus is dependent on the _______ of the anti-receptor on the virus for the ________ on the host cell.
What does this tell us about the relationship between attachment and penetration?
affinity of the anti-receptor for receptor
This tells us that a virus can attach to a host cell, but if affinity is low, it will not undergo penetration but rather will unattach and go to another cell
What are the antireceptors for:
- Influenza
- HIV
- HA
2. gp120 (coreceptor gp41)
What are the three possible mechanism viruses use for penetration?
- Translocation of the virion across the membrane
- Endocytosis- viral particles accumulate in a cytoplasmic vacuole
- Fusion of the cellular membrane and viral envelope
Penetration of the virus into the host cell is an ____________ step, unlike attachment.
energy-dependent
Uncoating marks the beginning of the ________ phase.
eclipse phase- a period during which the virion cannot be recovered from the cell
When the virus uncoats, it can begin the synthetic events. What is characteristic of the early phase? late phase?
Early phase- synthesize viral proteins/enzymes necessary for viral nucleic acid replication
Late phase- synthesize viral genome and proteins to form the virion (capsid, etc)
What is replicase?
Complex of viral proteins and/or host proteins required for viral nucleic acid replication (includes viral polymerase and cofactors)
What has become a very interesting drug target for viruses?
Viral polymerase because it would not affect host cells NOT infected by a virus
What enzyme is needed for replication of dsRNA viruses?
dsRNA polymerase and it makes mRNA and +/- sense strand
What enzyme is needed for replication of -ssRNA viruses?
ssRNA polymerase and it makes +/- sense strand and mRNA
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What enzyme is needed to replicate a retrovirus?
RNA-dependent DNA polymerase and the product is dsDNA
What enzyme is needed to replicate a DNA virus?
DNA-dependent DNA polymerase and it makes dsDNA
Despite different replication strategies, ALL viruses must generate _________ for continued proliferation.
mRNA
When a picornavirus (hepA, polio, rhino) infects a cell, what is the very first step that occurs in synthetic events?
It is a +sense RNA virus so it is already mRNA. This serves as a template for translation of proteins necessary as viral polymerase and replicase.
The enzymes then help replicate the parent strand to -sense which is a template for many many + sense
Describe the steps in the synthesis of a - sense RNA virus. (influenza, measles, mumps)
The virus carries its own viral polymerase in the virion because it does not have a template strand to make replicase machinery.
- strand -> +strand-> proteins (replicase)-> mRNA-> - strand progeny RNA-> progeny viruses
What makes the replication of a dsRNA virus different from the other RNA viruses?
It needs to carry its own viral polymerase (like -sense) but it needs to assemble as capsid around the partially assembled virus so that the virus does not trigger immune response
What is carried in the virion of a retrovirus?
virion tRNA, reverse transcriptase, integrase, protease
What are the three stages of replication for a DNA virus?
Immediate early- transcription factors for the next phase
Early- DNA synthesis
Late- proteins for the viral particles
Assembly of enveloped viruses requires the association of the ___________ with __________ modified by the viral proteins/glycoproteins.
nucleocaspid with the cell membrane of the host (that has been modified by viral glycoproteins)
Enveloped viruses are typically released gradually by _______.
budding from the plasma membrane or via exocytosis
Naked viruses typically accumulate in the cytoplasm of the host and release by ________.
lysis
ex. Sendai virus, poliovirus
What is meant by dissemination of a virus?
Spread to a different organ or organ system in the same host organism
What is the incubation period of a virus?
the amount of time between exposure to a virus and development of disease
What are the two major ways a virus develops adaptability and diversity?
- Mutation- introducing nucleotide errors into the genome
2. Recombination-coinfecting viruses exchange genetic information to create a distinct virus
What are the five steps of viral spread?
- Implantation at port of entry
- Local replication/local spread
- Dissemination from entry point to target point
- multiplication in target organs
- shedding of the virus
What is tissue tropism?
the cell or tissue type that supports the replication of a given virus
What are the four things that tissue tropism are dependent on?
- Cell receptors for the virus
- Expression of cell transcription factors and replication co-factors that recognize promoters and enhancers in the virus
- Ability of the cell to support viral protein synthesis
- Presence or absence of physical barriers (temp, pH, O2, digestive enzymes)
Viruses will most commonly implant in cells via which four routes?
- Respiratory
- GI
- skin penetration
- genital
In local replication and spread, viruses can spread extracellularly via______ or ______. In addition, some spread intracellularly via _____.
Extracellularly- budding (exocytosis) or lysis
Intracellularly- fusion
What are the three major ways that viruses disseminate in the body?
- Viremia- through the blood stream
- Neural (varicella, herpes, rabies, polio)
- Cell trafficking and direct cell-to-cell spread (HIV syncitia)
How do viruses enter target tissue from the bloodstream?
They are in endothelial cells or fixed macrophages and diffuse through gaps by migrating leukocytes
What are three examples of viruses that spread neurally?
- Rabies
- Herpes
- Polio
What part of the viral life cycle is responsible for the presentation of disease?
Multiplication in the target tissue (late in the course of the infection… after the eclipse phase)
Balance between ________ and ______ will determine the extend of organ dysfunction.
viral multiplication and host defenses
What is an example of a virus with a: 1. short 2. long 3. very long incubation period.
- polio
- HIV
- HEP B/C
How does HIV disrupt normal cellular processes?
Formation of syncitia where T cell fuse so they can no longer perform their job
What does Hep C cause?
liver dysfunction
What is the “host shut-off phenomenon”?
What will it eventually culminate to?
The viral infection will shut off translation of host proteins but will synthesize viral proteins.
Eventually the cell will be stressed and lyse.
What are examples of viruses that use “host shut-off”?
Influenza, polio
What is the short term benefit for the host that the virus makes nuclear inclusions and induces apoptosis?
What is the large scale drawback?
The cell will die, and because the virus is an obligate intracellular parasite, they will die–> not be able to replicate or spread.
Large scale apoptosis will cause tissue destruction and pathogenesis
What are the four potential effects of viral diseases on their host cells?
- Change host metabolism- host shutoff
- The host cell reaction to the infection causes disease- lover injury in hep C and syncitia in HIV
- modified cellular function via interaction of cell genes with viral products (oncogenic viruses)
- Lytic destruction of the host cell
How does HIV form a syncitia?
- Virion infects host cell
- Host cell produces viral proteins (anti-receptors)
- Host cell docks on an uninfected cell
- Uninfected and infected fuse
What is viral evolution?
The constant change of viral genomes via mutation and recombination in response to host pressures
What are the four major factors that contribute to viral diversity?
- mutation
- recombination
- number of progeny/replication rate
- selective pressures
Poliovirus is a great example of a virus that has a large number of progeny. How many can it produce in one replication cycle?
10,000
Compared to RNA, DNA have a _____ rate of error. This is because of ______.
low rate of error because their polymerase possesses proofreading.
1 mutant per serveral 100s-1000s genome replications
RNA, due to their lack of proofreading have an error about ______ per every _______ genome copy.
1 per copy
What is meant by quasispecies?
Because RNA can mutate so frequently, the same virus can exist in many different forms.
There is a dynamic distribution of related genomes.
Hence, disease can be caused in a previously resistant host
What is meant by “error threshold” for RNA viruses?
minimal level of genome integrity necessary for survival
What type of infection is Hep C (acute, persistent, chronic, slow) and why is this relevant?
It is a persistent infection that has a high rate of error making it adaptable and resistant to treatment.
It is relevant because it can be transferred by accidental needle stick in the hospital.
If you get stuck, you have a 0.3% chance of infection
What are the three main types of recombination?
- independent reassortment
- homologous recombination
- Breakage/re-joining
What type of virus would go through independent reassortment?
viruses with segmented genomes
What is independent assortment?
genes in different pieces of nucleic acid randomly combine (pieces from each of the two viruses infecting the host) to make a progeny with new antigens and as a result a new host range.
“antigenic shift”
Ex. influenza
What is homologous recombination?
template switching during RNA replication.
Ex. RNA viruses and retroviruses
What are the lipid bilayer antigens on orthomyxoviruses?
What are the internal antigens?
Hemagluttinin and neuroaminidase on the bilayer
M1 (matrix protein) and NP (nucleoprotein) internally
Describe recombination via breakage/rejoining.
Nucleic acid fragments and then are ligated to make a new combination (this is how SARS can cross species)
Ex. DNA and large RNA viruses
What does recombination do that point mutations cannot?
- juxtapose mutations that would have low probability of occuring together
- juxtapose viral genomes with limited homology (polio combined with enterovirus–> new virus)
- transduce sequences of nonhomologous genomes
What type of infection is Hep C (acute, persistent, chronic, slow) and why is this relevant?
It is a persistent infection that has a high rate of error making it adaptable and resistant to treatment.
It is relevant because it can be transferred by accidental needle stick in the hospital.
If you get stuck, you have a 0.3% chance of infection
What are the three main types of recombination?
- independent reassortment
- homologous recombination
- Breakage/re-joining
What type of virus would go through independent reassortment?
viruses with segmented genomes