Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The genome and proteins of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) have been the subject of extensive research since the discovery of the virus in 1983. [1] [2] "In the search for the causative agent, it was initially believed that the virus was a form of the Human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), which was known at the time to affect the human immune system and cause certain leukemias.
Two types of HIV have been characterized: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is the virus that was initially discovered and termed both lymphadenopathy associated virus (LAV) and human T-lymphotropic virus 3 (HTLV-III). HIV-1 is more virulent and more infective than HIV-2, [20] and is the cause of the majority of HIV infections globally. The lower ...
HIV is commonly transmitted via unprotected sexual activity, blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and from mother to child. Upon acquisition of the virus, the virus replicates inside and kills T helper cells, which are required for almost all adaptive immune responses. There is an initial period of influenza-like illness, and then a latent ...
Diagram of an HIV virion structure Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1, colored green, budding from a cultured lymphocyte. HIV is the cause of the spectrum of disease known as HIV/AIDS. HIV is a retrovirus that primarily infects components of the human immune system such as CD4 + T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells.
The stages of HIV infection are acute infection (also known as primary infection), latency, and AIDS. Acute infection lasts for several weeks and may include symptoms such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, inflammation of the throat, rash, muscle pain, malaise, and mouth and esophageal sores. The latency stage involves few or no symptoms and can ...
A reverse transcriptase (RT) is an enzyme used to convert RNA genome to DNA, a process termed reverse transcription.Reverse transcriptases are used by viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B to replicate their genomes, by retrotransposon mobile genetic elements to proliferate within the host genome, and by eukaryotic cells to extend the telomeres at the ends of their linear chromosomes.
A schematic structure of a HIV-1 protease. The monomers are shown in green and cyan, the Asp-25 and Asp-25´ residues are shown in red, and Ile50 and Ile50´ residues linked to a water molecule are shown in purple. The HIV protease is a C2-symmetric homodimeric enzyme consisting of two 99 amino acid monomers.
The subtypes of HIV include two main subtypes, known as HIV type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV type 2 (HIV-2). These subtypes have distinct genetic differences and are associated with different epidemiological patterns and clinical characteristics. HIV-1 exhibits a genetic relation to viruses indigenous to chimpanzees and gorillas that inhabit West Africa ...