Anti-virals Flashcards
What is meant by anti-retroviral
Type of anti-viral used to treat HIV.
HIV is a retrovirus- RNA virus (which is copied into DNA)- opposite to normal (DNA – RNA)
How can we classify anti-virals
By the disease that they target
Their mechanism of action (what they target)
Name some viral capsid proteins that we can target
Viral Capsid Proteins
HIV GP41
Macrophage CCR5 receptor
Influenza neuraminidase
Targetting these will prevent the entry of the virus into the host cell.
State some viruses that nucleoside analogues can be sued to treat
HIV
Hepatitis
Herpes Simplex
COVID- Remdesivir
Give an example of a vial integrase
HIV integrase
State two diseases which protease inhibitors could be used to treat
HIV
Hepatitis C
Proteases are necessary for the virus to mature at the end of its life cycle and leave the cell to infect other cells,
Describe the potential of protease inhibitors to treat COVID
COVID expresses a protease- which is essential for its maturity
The protease inhibitor (Kaletra) also blocks the expression of agglutinin on the surface of COVID which would normally hide it from the immune system- so this would also allow our immune system to combat COVID.
Summarise the basic structure of a virion
A virus particle (a virion) consists of a small segment of genetic material (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein capsule, known as a capsid. Since they do not have a defined cellular structure or their own metabolism they are unable to reproduce without a host cell and are therefore known as obligate parasites.
Describe the importance of the viral genetic material
The viral genetic material contains the information that is required to create its own microenvironment and also program the synthetic machinery of the host cell for viral replication.
Describe the function of the protein capsid
The capsid serves to protect the genetic material from dangers such as nucleases in the external environment. It can also play an important role in attachment of the virion to the host membrane, which would ordinarily repel the negatively charged DNA or RNA. The capsid and the viral genome along with any associated nucleoproteins are referred to as the nucleocapsid.
Describe the structure of more sophisticated viruses
A number of viruses also have a protein coat, which is a lipid bilayer quite often derived from the membrane of the host cell. The bilayer generally contains a number of integral membrane proteins (envelope proteins) and glycoproteins that are coded for by the viral genome. These integral membrane proteins often play an important role in the entry and exit of viruses into host cells.
What type of genetic material do the following viruses have:
a. Hepatitis B Hepadnavirus – it is a DNA virus that also involves reverse transcriptase in its replication b. Hepatitis C RNA virus c. HIV Retrovirus d. Herpes Simplex Virus DNA virus e. Influenza RNA virus
