HIV

Question 1

Primary target of HIV?

Answer 1

Helper T cells

Question 2

What is the viral load?

Answer 2

Measure in copies of virus per mL (copies/mL)

Question 3

What is the goal of HIV tx/ART?

Answer 3

viral load below lab detection (< 20 copies/mL or < 2.00E+01 copies/mL)

Question 4

T or F: HIV disproportionately affects affluent populations.

Answer 4

F

It affects marginalized ppl mostly

Question 5

Why is HIV prevalence on the rise?

Answer 5

Less ppl are dying from HIV > more ppl living w/ AIDS alive

Question 6

HIV is a …

a. DNA virus
b. RNA virus

Answer 6

b. RNA virus

Question 7

HIV replicates by hijacking machinery of this cell.

Answer 7

CD4+ cells

Question 8

What class of drugs are used to tx HIV?

Answer 8

ARVs (antiretrovirals)

Question 9

What’re the three main drug targets of HIV viruses?

Answer 9

integrase, reverse transcriptase, and protease

Question 10

What do each of the three main HIV enzymes do?

Answer 10

Reverse transcriptase: converts viral RNA to DNA

Integrase: allows HIV DNA to be inserted into CD4 DNA

Protease: breaks up immature proteins into protein chains that’re assembled into new virions that’re then ready to infect new cells

Question 11

T or F: Despite having undetectable viral loads, inds are still considered infectious.

Answer 11

F

They’re no longer infectious

Question 12

U=U meaning?

Answer 12

undetectable = untransmittable

Question 13

How many copies/mL are considered “undetectable”?

Answer 13

< 20 c/mL

Question 14

Normal CD4 levels in healthy inds?

Answer 14

500-1200 cells/mm^3

Question 15

What level of CD4 is assoc w/ more advanced HIV dz?

Answer 15

< 200 cells/mm^3

Question 16

During the course of an HIV infection, what is the name of the phase where Abs are made against the virus such that they can be detected?

Answer 16

Seroconversion

Question 17

Describe symptoms of early/acute HIV infection.

Answer 17

Flu-like, self-resolving

Fever, h/a, rash, sore throat, D, wt loss, myalgia/arthralgia

Question 18

How does AIDS develop?

Answer 18

When chronic, untx’ed HIV infection leads to CD4+ counts of < 200 cells/mm^3

Question 19

What is a person likely to develop as a result of AIDS?

Answer 19

Opportunistic infections

Question 20

T or F: AIDS is inevitable.

Answer 20

F

Question 21

Best way to avoid AIDS?

Answer 21

Early tx with ARVs

Question 22

Which specific organ system’s CD4+ cells are decimated early on during an HIV infection?

Answer 22

GI mucosal CD4+ cells

Question 23

Why is immune function permanently damaged during an HIV infection, even with suppression via ART?

Answer 23

HIV causes scarring and collagen buildup in lymph nodes (permanent structural changes)

Question 24

HIV infections are inherently _______

Answer 24

inflammatory

Question 25

Reasons why CD4 counts would not recover despite ART

Answer 25

1. chronic inflam
2. lymphoid fibrosis
3. hematopoietic progenitor cell loss
4. thymic dysfn

Question 26

How does HIV affect aging process?

Answer 26

It causes chronic inflammation > age faster

Question 27

When would it be appropriate to perform an Ab test for HIV?

Answer 27

within 3-12 weeks post-infection

Question 28

Why would one use antibody testing and p24 antigen testing?

Answer 28

differentiate b/w HIV-1 and HIV-2