Understanding HIV Infection Through HIV Life Cycle

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection is undeniably a big problem. Once infected, the immune system of the patient might become impaired. If this happens, the immune system will not be able to protect the body from various forms of diseases. As a result, the person will be at risk for obtaining illnesses – even the fatal ones.

To significantly reduce the HIV problem, many advocacy groups and government agencies have promoted a variety of information campaigns that aim to prop up awareness on how HIV can be transmitted and how people can possibly protect themselves from the infection.

An important part of these campaigns are the lectures that discuss the HIV life cycle. By understanding the process of how HIV survives in the human body, individuals can gain better knowledge on the transmission process. Thus, they will be able to prevent the spread of the infection.

How the virus survives

The HIV life cycle is a bit complicated. It is important to remember that unlike other organisms, a virus can only survive it has a living host (or if it is subjected to stringent laboratory settings). A virus will not be able to survive or reproduce if it cannot infect a cell. This is because, technically, viruses are not classified as a living organism. To simplify the scenario, they are often compared to “brains without bodies”. To make new viruses, the HIV should “invade” a cell. The infected cell then acts as the “body” of the virus.

The HIV life cycle depends much on the cellular life cycle of the body. Since our body constantly makes use of its cells to create protein and reproduce new cells, the HIV also makes use of the cell to create new viruses. Whenever the cell makes proteins, the virus hides its own DNA in its host’s DNA. As a result, the cell accidentally reproduces not just another cell, but another virus as well. Most of the time, HIV invades the cells of the immune system.

Some important notes to consider…

HIV infection happens when you have sexual contact with an HIV-infected person. Once the viruses get into your bloodstream, they look for cells which are CD4 receptors on their surfaces. The CD4 receptors are the protein components that allow the virus to bind or “invade” a cell. The HIV life cycle goes further to “adapt” in the invaded cell.

Most of the cells that the HIV infects are the T-4 Lymphocyte. These cells are white blood cells which contain large concentrations of CD4 receptors. They are also responsible for warning the immune system once foreign substances invade the bloodstream. By targeting these cells, HIV then makes these cells incapable of detecting infection. When this happens, a person becomes vulnerable to various kinds of diseases. GP