The AIDS Virus

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California State University, Fresno

The AIDS Virus

Alejandro Brambila
Biology 1A Lab T/Th 11:00 AM
Rakesh Krishna Kumar
Spring 2014

Introduction:
The reason behind choosing this topic is because of the enormous amount of people affected by the AIDS disease. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; it is the final stage of an HIV infection which targets the immune system of a person that will ultimately lead to an untimely death (What is AIDS AIDS.gov, 2012). According to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 15,529 people with an AIDS diagnosis died in 2010; and in the year 2011, an approximate 1,155,792 people have been diagnosed with AIDS (CDC, 2013).
Biology of the Disease:
The virus that leads to AIDS is the HIV. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV is just like any other virus with the exception of its complete resilience of the human immune system (AIDS.gov, 2012). This virus, under a powerful microscope, is spherical in shape with an approximate diameter of 1/10,000 of a millimeter. Its viral envelope is composed of a lipid bi-layer taken from the membrane of a human cell. Throughout the viral envelope are proteins from the host cell and, on average, 72 copies of a complex HIV protein called Env. These protein copies protrude the virus particle. Env proteins consist of a cap of 3 molecules known as glycoprotein (gp120), and a stem of 3 molecules called gyclycoprotein 41 (gp41) that anchor the structure in the viral envelope (Structure of NIH, 2012). Inside this envelope is a bullet-shaped core made up of 2,000 copies of p24, the viral protein. Inside the core are single strands of HIV RNA, each having a complete copy of the virus’s genes (Structure of HIV NIH,...

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NIH. “Structure of HIV”. National Institutes of Health. (2012) Website. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/hivaids/understanding/biology/Pages/structure.aspx
NIH. “Biology of HIV”. National Institutes of Health. (2012) Website.
UCSF. “AIDS Diagnosis.” University of California San Francisco Medical Center. (2014) Website. < http://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/aids/diagnosis.html>
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. “What is HIV/AIDS?”. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2012) Website. < http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/what-is-hiv-aids/>
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. “CD4 Count”. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2012) Website.

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