What makes the HIV virus so potent is because it is a retorvirus. It infiltrates a host cell and burst it keeping part of the cell to form an envelope to keep white blood calls from attacking it or recognizing it as an intruder. When an antibody or white blood cell come in contact with the virus the spikes "tell" the immune system it is from the host. It is because of the ability for the body to not easily detect the HIV virus it makes it hard to develop a vaccine.
To start off I think of Google as my best friend too! It was interesting to read about how a main problem in South Africa is the attitude toward masculinity. This could explain why is there is a high amount of abuse toward women there. Also for your “Did You Know” I am happy to see that you will be looking more in depth at the actual virus. It is a terrible virus but it is fascinating how it evades our immune system by mutating over and over again. It seems to be one of the most intelligent viruses we have ever encountered and that’s why it has been so difficult to create just one vaccine. I would think that there would need to be a vaccine created that stops each separate mutation in order to stop the entire virus. From a previous class I took I learned that some people are born with a mutation in one of their GP genes that makes them immune to HIV. In my opinion I think it would seem easier to figure out how to induce that mutation in people instead of trying to find a vaccine for each mutation of HIV.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading your future blogs!
re: the comment above.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with referring to a virus as intelligent is that it suggests that there is some sort of thought process to it. As if the virus knows what it is, who you are and what it is doing. That's not the case. It's just a virus, it doesn't think or plan or evade or judge. It just survives and replicates. And you can't even call it a very efficient virus as in the course of it's existence it eventually kills it's own host.
Also, inducing a mutation in human beings without having any idea of the possible future ramifications to our genetic structure would be far and away more than we are currently capable of medically. Very Star Trek but not too realistic.
It is true that HIV is simply a virus programmed to kill. The fact that it kills its host along the way is immaterial because it is quite efficient in spreading its progeny to individuals who don't believe they have anything to worry about. Look at the millions who are infected today.
ReplyDeleteHIV uses the Human Leukocyte Antigen to disguise itself as 'self.' This is the marker that marks all your own cells as belonging to you; a process that happens at the end of the first trimester. Not all HIV virions get this marker so the body does find it and mount an immune response to it.
Please put all three components of your blog into a single blog so I don't have to reply to three separate blogs.