Life Cycle of HIV

Though most people are familiar with the AIDS epidemic, many people may not be familiar with exactly how the HIV virus works in the body. The process of infecting CD4 immune cells and replicating more viruses occurs in several stages.

Infection

• The life cycle of HIV begins with infection. The virus attaches itself to a CD4 cell, binding to specific proteins on the cell and releasing its RNA into the cell so that it may take over.

Reverse Transcription

• An enzyme known as "reverse transcriptase" begins converting the viral RNA into DNA, making it compatible with human DNA.

Integration

• HIV DNA moves itself into the CD4 cell's nucleus. An enzyme known as "integrase" is used to hide the DNA from the host CD4 cell until it can integrate itself into the nucleus.

Transcription

• Once integrated in a CD4 cell's nucleus, HIV DNA can remain dormant for days, weeks or longer. Once the DNA comes out of this dormancy, it begins to release messenger RNA (also known as mRNA) and uses it to instruct the cell to start making HIV.

Assembly and Release

• Using the mRNA as a genetic blueprint, the cell will begin replicating HIV until it can no longer contain the virus. The cell will rupture, releasing a multitude of HIV virus cells that can then infect other CD4 immune cells.