Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (Essay Sample)

HIV/AIDS
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HIV/AIDS
The Organism That Causes the Disease
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the microbe responsible for HIV/AIDS infections (CDC, 2021). HIV is a microbe in the genus Lentivirus and HIV-1 and HIV-2 species (Esbjörnsson et al., 2019). HIV-1 is the most common, aggressive, and infectious species and it originated from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) (Esbjörnsson et al., 2019). HIV-1 currently replicates in human beings only.
Life Cycle
The HIV life cycle has seven stages that are binding, fusion, reverse transcription, integration, replication, assembly, and budding (NIH’s Office of AIDS Research, 2021). According to the NIH’s Office of AIDS Research (2021), the life cycle begins with HIV binding to the surface receptors of the CD4 cell. The HIV moves inside the CD4 cell after it joins together with the membrane of the CD4 cell. In the third stage, which is reverse transcription, HIV changes the CD4 cell DNA to ensure it moves to the cell nucleus (NIH’s Office of AIDS Research, 2021). Specifically, HIV RNA is converted into HIV DNA using reverse transcriptase enzyme that HIV generates (NIH’s Office of AIDS Research, 2021).
HIV releases another enzyme, integrase, in the integration stage. Then, the viral DNA is integrated into the CD4 cell DNA using the integrase enzyme. Applying the CD4 cell machinery, HIV replicates by forming HIV protein chains in the replication cycle. In the assembly stage, non-infectious HIV are assembled when HIV RNA and HIV proteins transfer to the CD4 cell surface (NIH’s Office of AIDS Research, 2021). The HIV life cycle ends when HIV produces protease that converts non-infectious HIV into mature infectious HIV (NIH’s Office of AIDS Research, 2021). Before releasing the enzyme, the immature HIV moves out of the original CD4 cell.
How it Spreads and the Infection Process