Ljubljana/HIVbacground
From 2007.igem.org
HIV-1 Infection Background
HIV primarily infects cells that are important in human immune response: T-cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. By replicating itself in T-cells it destroys them and thus weakens the immune system.
Approximately one to three months after infection a specific immune response develops, causing the number of viral particles to decrease and the CD4 cell count rebounces. However, the immune response is unable to clear the infection completely, and HIV-infected cells persist in the lymph nodes as viral DNA integrated in the host genome. This period of clinical latency may last for as long as 10 years, but there is still a a high level of ongoing viral replication.
Eventually, clinically apparent diseases develop, such as neoplasms or opportunistic infections. These are a consequence of rapid viral proliferation in CD4 infected cells and their subsequent destruction which weakens the immune system. The onset of these symptoms is known as the progression to AIDS.
Despite enormous efforts to find the ultimate cure for AIDS there is no efficient treatment that could totally eliminate HIV. The main reason for not being able to develop a useful drug is the lack of proofreading replication enzymes in HIV. Consequently, mutations occur changing the properties of HIV molecules. Thus, resistance evolves quickly, making many existing drugs useless. Nevertheless, certain therapeutics and drug cocktails can slow down AIDS progression and provide better life for those infected with HIV. Another problem in AIDS treatment is the price of therapeutics; only a fraction of infected population can afford the expensive treatment.
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2007/f/fb/Epidemix_small.jpg)
Adult HIV prevalence at the end of 2005. More than 60 % of infected individuals live in Sub-Saharan Africa. South and South-East Asia (especially India) have more than 15 % of infected with HIV.
Products
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Services
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Support
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Development
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