CHEM 112 Lecture Notes - Aids, Hiv, Reverse Transcriptase
11 Feb 2013
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They cause damage by taking over the host cell for multiplication. Do not have a cellular structure / don"t respire or need food. Transmitted via sexual contact; infected woman passing it to her baby through the placenta. Also by receiving blood from an infected person. Aids (acquired immune deficiency syndrome: all t-helper cells infected (and destroyed, number of t lymphocytes decrease dramatically / sign for the disease, people highly susceptible to infections, diseases and cancer. Retrovirus: core contains reverse transcriptase and its genetic material as rna. Hiv can change its surface proteins and evade the immune system / vaccination is difficult. Hiv enters body from hiv +ve persons via body fluids such as blood or semen. Viral glycoprotein attaches to receptors on cell membrane of t-helper cells. Hiv enters cell by endocytosis, releasing its rna and reserve transcriptase into the cytoplasm. This forms a double stranded viral dna in the nucleus of t-helper cell / now called.
