Subdecks (5)

Cards (44)

  • 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