How Does the AIDS Virus Reproduce?
Attachment and Infiltration The AIDS virus is a virus that must penetrate a cell in order to reproduce. The virus then takes control of the cell itself and uses existing material to multiply and infect other cells. To begin, the virus attaches to CD4 receptors which are located on the living cell. The virus becomes “stuck” to the cell via these receptors and then begins to transfer genetic material from the outside of the cell in. Prior to this, the virus was covered in a coating, which protects the virus while it is traveling in the bloodstream. The AIDS virus is a retrovirus, which means it secretes ribonucleic acid (RNA) compared to deoxyribonucleic acid, which contains the genetic information for a cell. The RNA must react with the cells’ materials in order to create DNA that control the cell. In the Nucleus In order to convert the RNA into DNA, the virus utilizes an enzyme known as reverse transcriptase to twist itself around and become double-stranded DNA. This is known as revers
