The 7 Stages of HIV Life Cycle
November 22, 2021
So friends, let us tell you that HIV is an infection that affects an estimated 1.2 million people in the United States.
This infection is very difficult to treat because the virus combines its genetic information with the genetic information of a type of white blood cell called CD4 cells. HIV can continue to replicate without treatment, producing more than 10 billion new virus particles per day.
There are three primary stages of HIV:
Friends, let us tell you that this is an.
acute HIV – That very high amount of HIV is present in your blood. And only a few people develop flu-like symptoms such as chills, fever, and sore throat. And friends, this happens only about 2 to 4 weeks after an exposure.
Chronic HIV – And it’s only after that acute symptom has subsided that and that you enter the chronic stage and also this is where HIV replicates at low levels. And friends, if you are still contagious at this stage, but you may not have symptoms.
AIDS AIDS – This is the last stage of HIV and at the same time it seriously affects.
your immune system – Furthermore, it is characterized by a CD4 count of under 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood.
And the replication cycle or life cycle of HIV can be divided into seven phases. And let us tell you that even the drugs that treat it inhibit only one of the seven stages of the HIV life cycle.
And at the same time, in an actively infected cell, it only lasts for 1 or 2 days in its entire life cycle. But some cells may be recently infected, which means that HIV can potentially be present in them for years without producing new virus particles. And with this, these cells can also become active at any time and also start making this virus.
And friends, let us tell you that in this article, we explain what happens during each of the 7 stages of the life cycle of HIV along with how all these drugs inhibit these processes.
1. Binding
Let us tell you that this HIV comes in a group of viruses and that which is also called retrovirus. And with that, these viruses are a challenge to get rid of and friends because they also integrate with the host cell’s DNA as part of their life cycle.
It is during the first phase of the life cycle of HIV that the virus only binds to receptors on the surface of CD4 cells. And along with this, these CD4 cells, also called helper T cells, and friends, this is a type of white blood cell and the one that alerts other types of immune cells that there is an infection in your body.
2. Fusion
And let us tell you that HIV is an enveloped virus, and that means that its genetic information is protected by both a protein shell and a lipid layer called an envelope.
And friends, the first time it binds to the receptors on the HIV CD4 cells, and it also initiates the fusion of its envelope with the membrane of the CD4 cell using a glycoprotein called gp120. . And at the same time, these glycoproteins are molecules made up of chains of carbohydrates and proteins.
And that attaches to the membrane of your CD4 cells, allowing the virus to enter the cell much more easily.
3. Reverse Transcription
And let us tell you that this reverse transcription is a process of converting genetic information in the form of RNA and either it is in DNA. And this one RNA and DNA also carry the same genetic information and friends but it is structurally different. And also this RNA is usually made up of a long chain of genetic information, and friends this while DNA is made up of a double strand.
And tell that this virus easily converts its RNA into DNA itself by releasing an enzyme called reverse transcriptase. This process allows the virus’s genetic information to enter the nucleus of your CD4 cell.
4. Integration
And with that, once HIV has converted its RNA to DNA, it releases another enzyme called integrase inside the nucleus of your CD4 cell. And at the same time, this virus uses this enzyme to mix its DNA with the DNA of your CD4 cell.
And friends, at this point, the infection is still considered latent and at the same time it is very difficult to detect even with sensitive laboratory tests.
5. Replication
And let us tell you that because this one HIV is now integrated into the DNA of your CD4 cell, and that is because it can also very easily use that cell’s machinery to generate the viral protein. could. And also during this time, it can produce more of its genetic material (RNA). And at the same time these two things allow it to make more viral particles.
6. Assembly
And let us tell you that in this one assembly step, that new HIV protein and RNA are sent to the edge of your CD4 cell and with that it becomes an immature HIV. And apart from this, the virus is also non-infectious in its present form.
7. Budding
And moreover, it is during this budding phase that this immature virus is passed out of your CD4 cells. Ir friends this then they release an enzyme called protease and the one that modifies the proteins in the virus with it making it a mature and infectious version.
Friends, these are targeted antiretroviral drugs for each stage only.
The primary goal of antiretroviral therapy is to stop HIV from replicating and suppressing your viral load to the point where it is no longer detectable.
So I can tell you Antiretroviral of drugs are divided into the seven drug classes, depending on which part of HIV life cycle they disrupt At least 2 different of drug classes are of used during of the antiretroviral therapy. Each medicine usually contains two or three drugs.
binding phase antiviral
CCR5 antagonists
And let’s say that this is a CCR5 antagonist to inhibit the binding step; they block the CCR5 coreceptor on the surface of your CD4 cells. And also this CCR5 is the primary coreceptor it uses by the GP120 glycoprotein on the surface of HIV to enter your cells.
And let us tell you that a coreceptor is a special type of receptor which is also necessary for the virus to enter the cell.
like this post-attachment inhibitor
Post-attachment inhibitors bind to receptors on CD4 cells. In addition, this activity prevents HIV from binding to two types of coreceptors called CCR5 and CXCR4, and it also prevents the virus itself from entering your CD4 cells during a binding phase. stops.
Fusion Stage Antiviral
fusion inhibitor
Friends, let us tell you that these fusion inhibitors block the ability of the HIV envelope to bind itself to the CD4 cell membrane very easily. And along with this, this action also easily prevents the virus from entering your cells.
reverse transcription stage antiviral
Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs)
Friends, let us tell you that these NRTIs prevent HIV from using the reverse transcriptase enzyme to replicate. Furthermore, a reverse transcriptase allows the virus to convert its RNA into DNA in the reverse transcription phase of its life cycle. And let us tell you that this drug easily prevents the virus from copying its RNA in the DNA itself, it also prevents it from copying it accurately.
Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs)
And if you don’t know, let us tell you that this NNRTI inactivates a key protein and the one that HIV uses to replicate. And at the same time, it works in the same way as an NRTI and apart from this it also prevents the HIV virus from replicating itself.
integration phase antiviral
Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitor
So I can tell you It is an of integrase strand transfer of the inhibitor that block the enzymes of integrases as well as of the one that HIV of the uses to bind its own reverse-transcribed DNA with your cells DNA during the integration phase. It does this only to combine.
budding stage antiviral
protease inhibitor
If you do not know, then tell that this protease inhibitor block this enzyme protease only during the budding stage. And it’s also a protease, an enzyme and one that allows this immature HIV to become a mature virus and one that can otherwise infect CD4 cells.
To remove
And let us tell you that this HIV easily replicates itself by adding one of its genetic information to the genetic information of your CD4 white blood cells as well.
The replication process, or HIV lifecycle, consists of seven stages.
In addition, it is an antiretroviral therapy that includes drugs from at least 2 types of drug classes. And each drug class also prevents the virus from replicating by inhibiting a specific part of the HIV lifecycle.
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