HIV

• What type of virus is HIV?

  HIV is a retrovirus, the RNA of the virus uses reverse transcriptase to convert itself into DNA and insert itself into the host cell's genome
• What does HIV infect?

  CD4 T cells and macrophages
• Hosts infected with HIV are commonly killed by a secondary infection
• GP120: binds to the CD4 cell, exposes the secondary binding site
• GP41: allows for HIV to fuse to the cell membrane
• GP120/CD4 complex: binds to the secondary receptor
• CCR5: located in WBC, HIV binds to this to enter the cell
• CXCR4: receptor found on T cells, a mutation that is naturally resistant to HIV binding
• HIV is transmitted by unprotected sex and shared needles
• HIV is transmitted by infected blood products, and can be passed from the mother to the fetus
• Not everyone who has HIV has AIDs, but people without treatment intervention will always develop AIDs eventually
• HIV is diagnosed by genomics, which can indicate the course of it's infection.
• Immunological testing can help diagnose HIV, primarily the CD4 to CD8 cell count