Real Time Pcr Detection Of Hiv Viral Load - 992 Words

Real-time PCR detection of HIV viral load Introduction: HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a lentivirus which is responsible for HIV infection and eventually causes AIDS. It’s assumed that the virus has been in existence since 1930 but it’s still unclear that how the virus came into existence. There are two kinds of HIV virus, HIV-1 which causes more severe disease and the source of transmission is a chimpanzee species Pan troglodytes whereas HIV-2 is transmitted by Cercocebus atys, a monkey found in West Africa (Norris, 2011). HIV binds to the CD4+ T cells because it needs CD4+ receptor to penetrate into cells. The virus transcribes its RNA into cDNA and then integrates its DNA into the host DNA and replicates further. It uses the DNA of CD4+ T lymphocytes and eventually ends up destroying them (Roberts, 2008). Once it weakens the immune system, the body becomes vulnerable to various diseases and is exposed to life threatening diseases known as opportunistic infections. A population of over 35 million people have HIV/AIDS and Sub Saharan Africa constitutes half of the population (AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, 2014). Figure 1. A statistical map showing the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS (Who.int, 2013). The HIV Infection progresses through a number of stages. As shown in Figure 2. The acute infection stage is associated with a rapid increase of the viral copies up to several millions per ml with a slow decline in the CD4+ T cells. During the first few weeksShow MoreRelatedEssay on Clinical Practice Have Been Revolutionised by PCR1825 Words   |  8 Pagesits discovery PCR have completely changed clinical practice. PCR is a gold standard method for detecting and identifying pathogen. By observing viral load it allows to predict disease progression and therefore design a better treatment. It is allowing non invasive prenatal diagnosis of many genetic defects. There are few limitations however at the rate PCR is advancing, no doubt in future whole clinical practice will be dependent on PCR. Background: Polymerase Chain reaction (PCR) is an in vitroRead MoreA Research Study On Human Immunodeficiency Virus1843 Words   |  8 Pagesof AIDs for as long as possible by interfering with HIV replication. Individuals that are homozygous for a naturally occurring ∆ 32 deletion mutation in the CCR5 gene have high resistance to HIV-1 infections because the virus is unable to attach and affect the cell. Engineered zinc finger nucleases are currently being analyzed to see if they are capable of modifying CD4+ helper T-cells into a resistant strain of CD4+ helper T-cells against HIV-1. A patient from Berlin in 2009 inadvertently receivedRead MoreThat Target The Gene Codes For A Protein Found On The Surface Of White Blood Cells1671 Words   |  7 Pagesas a receptor for chemokines. The HIV virus, strain R5-tropic virus, initially uses the CCR5 chemokine receptor to attach to the CD4+ helper T-cells. The Berlin patient showed how a CCR5-negative hematopoietic stem/ progenitor ce lls (HSC) from a CCR5 ∆ 32 donor can be used to generate HIV-1 resistant CD4+ helper T-cells.3 Mice models using in vivo studies have also shown ZFNs to be very effective in creating this CCR5 ∆ 32 mutation and ultimately suppressing the HIV-1 replication. Holt and collegues3Read MoreHv Essay763 Words   |  4 Pagessuch as HIV infection, organ transplantation, hypo- or agammaglobulinemia or in patients on hemodialysis (Kalantar-Zadeh et al., 2005). RIBA has been used to confirm positive EIA. However, with the availability of RNA-detection assays, confirmation by RIBA became less necessary (Lauer Walker, 2001). 2. Molecular assays (direct Assays) a. Qualitative assays Qualitative HCV RNA detection assays are based on the principle of target amplification using either polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or transcription-mediatedRead MoreBenefits of Immunotherapy from Advances in Immunology and Recombinant Dna Technology3196 Words   |  13 Pagesunder-which these advances are made i.e. in extraction, amplification and detection. The introduction of PCR and PCR based technologies has aided the easy and rapid identification of cultured and uncultured bacteria, fungi, viral and DNA sequences that are associated with antimicrobial resistance. Viral loads can now be determined by PCR and this has helped in evaluating antiviral therapies such as HIV. The most powerful feature of PCR is the large amount of copies of the target sequence generated exponentially