Definitions for "HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS TYPE 1"
The retrovirus isolated and recognised as the aetiologic (i.e., causing or contributing to the cause of a disease) agent of AIDS. HIV-1 is classified as a lentivirus in a subgroup of retroviruses.
1. The retrovirus isolated and recognized as the etiologic agent (cause) of AIDS. HIV-1 is classified as a lentivirus in a subgroup of retroviruses. See Lentivirus; Retrovirus. Most viruses and all bacteria, plants, and animals have genetic codes made up of DNA, which uses RNA to build specific proteins. The genetic material of a retrovirus such as HIV is RNA. HIV inserts its own RNA into the host cell DNA, preventing the host cell from carrying out its natural functions and turning it into an HIV "factory."
The virus which is thought to cause most cases of Aids. Infection occurs when the virus inserts its own genetic material into a host cell, preventing it from carrying out its natural functions and turning it into an HIV factory. Click here to return to list