How AIDS Works

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a condition caused by the virus HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system and over time breaks the immune system down so that the body can not  even properly resist minor infections.  These infections and cancers are categorized as “opportunistic infections” (OIs) because they attack the body when the body has no way of protecting itself. AIDS victims do not die of HIV, they die from the OIs that HIV prevented their body from defending itself.

HIV Virus

HIV mainly attacks T-cells, or white blood cells, which alert the immune system to start fighting against diseases.   The T-cells are HIV’s chosen target because they are the home of many CD4 receptors. CD4 receptors are proteins which provide a perfect binding place for the HIV onto the cell. Within the cell, the HIV virus inserts it’s own RNA into the DNA of the cell. While cells go through the process of being DNA which is then transcribed into RNA, HIV begins as RNA and goes through reverse transcription. An enzyme called reverse transcriptase assists the HIV in making a DNA copy of the virus’s RNA. This is new DNA copy is called “proviral DNA.” This proviral DNA enters the cell’s nucleus and with the help of the viral enzyme integrase the proviral DNA of the HIV is inserted into the DNA of the cell. From that moment on, every time the cell replicated itself or send mRNA to build proteins, the DNA of the HIV is being spread.