[Missy185]

Im currently writing about HIV and the biological process that is going on within the body( a chemistry paper). I am having a tough time answering a couple of questions I want to answer that seems to passed over in alot of what I have read.

Why does the HIV virus lay dormant in the cells for an uncertain amount of time until is is activated?

and what causes the HIV virus to finally become activated wthin the cells?

can anyone direct me to a creditable source on the internet that discusses this matter in detail?  I have looked but cant really find anything great except http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/lecture/hiv8.htm

thanks for your help

[enahs]

The term you are looking for is Viral Latency. Since your question is broad, I would suggest you search google for Viral Latency, and get some general information. And then tack on HIV to the search.

[Yggdrasil]

If you want general information, look up lytic and lysogenic life cycles in a biology text book.  I don't know how well the transition is understood for HIV, but the transition between lytic and lysogenic life cycles is well understood for bacteriophage lambda (involving some really cool genetic "switches").

[Missy185]

Can anyone give me any input on what I have written so far?? I have spent hours reading and refining searches and I am mentally exhausted for the night. I would love any feedback. Please if u could spare a few minutes to read this and tell me what you like or don't like about how I wrote it. Its a bit messy with spacing and breaks but I will fix that soon.600 words so far. The numbers in brackets represent sources
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H.I.V. also known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus is the virus that

can lead to A.I.D.S.  A.I.D.S. is the acronym for Acquired

Immunodeficiency Syndrome. H.I.V. has caused wide spread fears

amongst most people, mostly because once you get it, there is no cure.

There are a few ways to acquire this virus including sharing needles,

unprotected sex, exchanging bodily fluids and sometimes receiving

blood transfusions, although it is not as common any longer due to

screening of the blood by hospitals. HIV is a retrovirus that primarily

targets the body’s immune system.(4) A retrovirus is a virus that

contains a unique enzyme called “Reverse Transcriptase” that allows

 it to replicate

(multiply) within new host cells. (4) Once the virus has entered the

body’s blood stream, the virus essentially is floating around like a little package and

 starts to *Ignore me, I am impatient* into healthy cells, until it finds cells

that contain a special protein called CD4 (T-cells) .The virus infects a large number of these CD4 cells. The blood contains many viral particles that spread throughout the body, seeking out and infecting various organs, especially the lymphoid organs. This is particularly

interesting how it works. (1) When the H.I.V. virus has attached itself to

 the CD4 cell, that cell then realizes and intruder is present and the

cell begins a process of fighting off the intruder by consuming it

within the cell and putting up a protective barrier (like a bubble)

around the cell. The cell starts to produce acid within itself to lower

the Ph level, essentially trying to kill the intruder. Try as it may though,

 H. I. V. is a clever virus and when the cell begins to pump acid within

 itself, the variation in the Ph level starts to change the shape of the

 cell, therefore allowing the virus to enter within the cell and releasing

 its R.N.A. (information) into the nucleus. (1) The H.I.V. virus cannot be eliminated or destroyed once its made its way inside the cell. The virus undergoes

an incubation period before the onset of disease begins. This means

the virus is dormant within the cells of the body and not currently

active, like a ticking time bomb. Half of the people that become

infected are a- symptomatic (showing no signs of sickness) during the

initial period of infection. This can also be referred to as viral latency.

The H.I.V. virus may lie dormant within a cell for a long period of

time.
 (2) Once activated the virus within the cells with the special

 enzyme called “reverse transcriptase” starts to turn the viral R.N.A.

 “Ribonucleic Acid” (a molecule that can carry genetic information) into D.N.A.

 “Deoxyribonucleic

 Acid” (the recipe with instructions needed to construct other

cells) so that it can remain compatible with our

genetic material (so the body will allow the virus to replicate itself). This new D.N.A. is then sent into the cells nucleus

 where it is split into the body’s D.N.A. by the H.I.V. enzyme integrase

 making a D.N.A. copy of the virus's genetic material.

 (5) Reverse Transcriptase is one of the most important steps in the


 H.I.V. cycle of infection (by turning the viral R.N.A. into new, viral D.N.A.). (5)



When the Cd4 cells and the H.I.V. virus have been “mixed” together the new H.I.V. viral

D.N.A. becomes a provirus. (2)  (4) A provirus is a virus that has

integrated itself into the DNA of a host cell. (4)  (5) Now that the

H.I.V. virus has the upper hand so to speak and it starts to use the

cells own D.N.A. replicating system to make new copies of the viral

D.N.A. (5)

[AhmedEzatAlzawalaty]

i learned that activation of HIV 1 is by the effect of Tumer Necrosis Factor and the Interleukin -6