YR 2 F1- HIV Flashcards
By what routes is HIV transmitted?
sexual-vaginal/anal
bodily fluids - sharing needes/ syringe/breast milk
Mothers with HIV- vertibal
Which groups of people are at highest risk of infection of HIV?
transgender women who have sex with men
IV drug users
People with weak immune systems
Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos
What kind of virus is HIV?
HIV is a Lentivirus (a subgroup of retrovirus) that occurs as two types: HIV-1 (more common) and HIV-2 (rare and in developing countries)
How does HIV intially enter our body? (not transmission)
It attaches to go to mucous membrane and goes to the lymphatic system.
How does HIV cause Immunodefiiency?
HIV targets at attaches to a CD4 molecule via gp120 protein on HIV. HIV again uses the protein to attach to co receptors on t helper cells. These can be CXCR4/CCR5. These attachments allows the genetic material of the virus to enter the cell. HIV has single stranded retrovirus so that means it has reverse transcriptase which synthesis RNA into DNA. Intergrase intergrates voral DNA into host genome. Protease cleaves viral polypeptide and makes viral protein. The virus replicates rapidly invading other cells
What is the natural history of HIV disease?
4 stages
Primary
Spreads to lymohode
Clinical – no symptoms
AIDs/CD4 falling
Learn this to see what other infections/malignacies may be associated with HIV infection.
How does anti-retroviral treatment work and what impact does it have on transmission of HIV?
HIV is treated with antiretroviral medications, which work by stopping the virus replicating in the body. It binds to the HIV enzyme- integration inhibitor. Howvever is doesn’t get rid of the virus but it reduces it.
ART can be expected to reduce HIV transmission by reducing the concentration of virus in the blood and genital secretions of the person with HIV infection. If viral load is not detected that they will not be able to transmitted.
Why is it so difficult to make an effective prophylactic vaccine against HIV?
The virus has a huge variability in strands and so cannot make specific vaccine
HIV mutates very rapidly- reverse transcriptase can mutate a lot
Antretroviral
