Library · Microorganism
Human immunodeficiency virus
Make it clearer
Human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, is a retrovirus, that is, a virus that stores its information in RNA and converts it into DNA inside the cell. It attacks mainly CD4+ helper T cells, a type of white blood cell, the kind that directs the body's defenses.
It enters through the CD4 antigen, the molecule on the surface of those cells that serves as its door. Once inside, its reverse transcriptase, the enzyme that makes that backward copy, turns its RNA genome into DNA, and its integrase places that DNA inside the cell's DNA. That is the key point: the virus's instructions end up written in the cell's own manual, and that is why the infection lasts for life.
Because those cells are steadily lost, the body's defenses grow weaker and weaker, until there is extreme immunosuppression. AIDS is the final stage of the infection.
In brief
Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is a retrovirus that attacks mainly CD4+ helper T cells, a type of white blood cell.
It enters through the CD4 antigen; its reverse transcriptase copies its RNA genome into DNA, and its integrase inserts that DNA into the cell's DNA: the infection lasts for life.
The virus's instructions end up written in the cell's own manual.
The steady loss of these cells causes extreme immunosuppression; AIDS is the final stage of the infection.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingHIV and AIDS, StatPearlsPublished
- MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of MedicineHIV, MedlinePlusPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated