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From HIV to AIDS: The amazing story behind 1983, did you know?
Since the discovery of the HIV virus in 1983, the virus and its proteins have been the subject of extensive research by the scientific community. Initially, researchers thought the virus was a variant of human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV). However, scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris isolated a different and unknown retrovirus from AIDS patients, which was later named HIV.
Each virus particle (virion) consists of a viral envelope, an associated matrix, and an intracapsid core that surrounds two single-stranded RNA genomes and several enzymes.
The first major case of AIDS was reported just two years after the discovery of HIV. As a retrovirus, HIV has significant differences in structure from other retroviruses. HIV virus particles are about 100 nanometers in diameter and contain a conical core that contains two positive-sense single-stranded RNA genomes, as well as several important enzymes (such as reverse transcriptase, integrase and protease) and the main core protein.
The HIV genome contains eight key viral proteins that play an integral role in the HIV life cycle.
The HIV-1 genome consists of two non-covalently linked copies of unspliced positive-sense single-stranded RNA, a property that is typical among retroviruses. Although the two copies of RNA are often identical, they are not independent but form a tight dimer within the virus particle. This dimer structure plays multiple important roles in HIV replication, including promoting the recombination of genetic diversity and maintaining the integrity of genetic information during reverse transcription.
When a break occurs during the reverse transcription of a viral RNA copy, the reverse transcriptase can switch templates so that no genetic information is lost.
Diving deeper into the HIV genome, HIV has up to nine genes that encode up to fifteen viral proteins. These proteins are synthesized to form polypeptides, including Gag (group-specific antigen) and viral enzymes (Pol, polymerase) used inside the virus, as well as the viral envelope glycoprotein (env). In addition to these structural proteins, HIV also encodes some regulatory and auxiliary proteins, such as Tat, Rev, Nef, Vpr, Vif and Vpu.
HIV's gag gene provides the basic physical structure of the virus, while the pol gene provides the basic mechanism for retrovirus reproduction.
In the RNA structure of HIV, multiple conserved secondary structural elements have been identified that are directly involved in regulating the reverse transcription process. These structures include some stem ring structures connected to small chain rings, and the existence of these structures has an important impact on the life cycle of the virus. In addition, HIV has a unique third variable loop (V3 loop) located in the Envelope glycoprotein gp120, which is responsible for the binding of the virus to the host immune cells, enabling the virus to effectively infect human cells.
Currently, Env is considered an important source for drug targets for treating HIV-1 infected people and developing AIDS vaccines.
With the deepening of research, scientists have made some progress in the development of HIV vaccines, especially in vaccine candidates targeting Env. These vaccine candidates show potential to boost immune responses and better combat HIV diversity.
The protein Vpu that can successfully release viral particles is a phosphoprotein that plays an important role in HIV-1 and is involved in the degradation of CD4.
The study of HIV not only reveals its unique structure and complex life cycle, but also enables us to understand why the virus is so difficult to eradicate and treat. However, vaccine development still faces many challenges, which makes people wonder: Where will the real breakthrough against this virus come from in future medical research?
