H.i.v. About Aids
The topic of this paper is the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, and
whether or not mutations undergone by the virus allow it to survive in the
immune system. The cost of treating all persons with AIDS in 1993 in the
United States was $7.8 billion, and it is estimated that 20,000 new cases of
AIDS are reported every 3 months to the CDC. This question dealing with how
HIV survives in the immune system is of critical importance, not only in the
search for a cure for the virus and its inevitable syndrome, AIDS (Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome), but also so that over 500,000 Americans already
infected with the virus could be saved. This is possible because if we know
that HIV ...
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uses RNA templates to produce DNA. For example, within the
core of HIV is a double molecule of ribonucleic acid, RNA. When the virus
invades a cell, this genetic material is replicated in the form of DNA .
But, in order to do so, HIV must first be able to produce a particular
enzyme that can construct a DNA molecule using an RNA template. This enzyme,
called RNA-directed DNA polymerase, is also referred to as reverse
transcriptase because it reverses the normal cellular process of
transcription. The DNA molecules produced by reverse transcription are then
inserted into the genetic material of the host cell, where they are
co-replicated with the host's chromosomes; they are thereby distributed to
all daughter cells during subsequent cell divisions. Then in one or more of
these daughter cells, the virus produces RNA copies of its genetic material.
These new HIV clones become covered with protein coats and leave the cell to
find other host cells where they can ...
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the blood and
lymphatic system, ready to move quickly should the same virus once again
invade the body.
In the initial stage of HIV infection, the virus colonizes helper T cells,
specifically CD4+ cells, and macrophages, while replicating itself relatively
unnoticed. As the amount of the virus soars, the number of helper cells
falls; macrophages die as well. The infected T cells perish as thousands of
new viral particles erupt from the cell membrane. Soon, though, cytotoxic T
and B lymphocytes kill many virus-infected cells and viral particles. These
effects limit viral growth and allow the body an opportunity to temporarily
restore its supply of helper cells to ...
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"H.i.v. About Aids." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 18 Apr. 2008. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/H-i-v-About-Aids/82281>
"H.i.v. About Aids." Essayworld.com. April 18, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/H-i-v-About-Aids/82281.
"H.i.v. About Aids." Essayworld.com. April 18, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/H-i-v-About-Aids/82281.
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