http://www.primatefreedom.com/images/mangabey.jpg
Isn’t the monkey cute? It is a Sooty Mangabey. Bet you’re wondering what has it got to do with microbiology.
Well, make a guess? From the title of the post, it must have something to do with a virus.
The virus is the Human Immunodeficiency virus(HIV)! The HIV’s origin was this innocent looking monkey.
During the 20th century, non-human primates in sub-Saharan Africa transferred the virus to humans.
Both HIV-1 and HIV-2 were said to be mutated from the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) from the Sooty Mangabey.
The HIV-1 is more virulent, thus it is easily transmitted and is the cause of the worldwide spread of HIV.
HIV-2 is less virulent and is contained in West Africa.
That’s enough about how it all started. Now, let’s understand what it does to our bodies.
The HIV is a lentivirus that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. A HIV patient needs different types of medication to suppress the virus to prolong their lives. The information below will allow you to understand why.
HIV attacks specific lymphocytes called T-cells (CD-4), takes them over, and multiplies. This destroys more T-cells, damaging the body’s ability to fight them off.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/std/hiv.html
When the levels of T-cells are very low, HIV patients are more susceptible to other infections. This weakened immune deficiency is known as AIDS and would result in severe life-threatening infections, some forms of cancer, and the deterioration of the nervous system.
However, HIV can be controlled by drugs. Firstly, the viral attachment can be blocked by a class of drugs called entry inhibitors. This prevents the HIV from attacking the T-cell which prevents the reproduction of HIV. If HIV is attached, the HIV and T-cell would fuse. Drugs called entry or fusion inhibitors are used to block the fusion.
In order for HIV to reproduce, the RNA from the HIV has to be converted to DNA. Drugs called reverse transcriptase inhibitors block HIV’s reverse transcriptase from using these building blocks. These drugs contain faulty imitations of proteins found in a T-cell’s cytoplasm. The imitation building blocks in NRTIs are inserted into the DNA, preventing the double strand of DNA from becoming fully formed.
The enzyme protease allows the HIV’s material to be separated so they can be reassembled to new HIV. Drugs called such as Kaletra, Crixivan, and Viracept bind to the protease enzyme and prevent it from separating, the HIV subunits.
