PATH 3610 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Reverse Transcriptase, Interferon, Oseltamivir
19 Dec 2016
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Path lecture 17 February 24th 2016
VIRUSES
• Whe there’s irus i the loodstrea, alled VIREMIA
• Host response to viral infection:
o There are many different kinds of viral infections, but the host
response is always through the immune system and
inflammation and stuff!
o Innate response
▪ Release of interferon (interferon: a cytokine that produced
by a virus-infected cell. Functions to alert neighboring cells
to the infection of the interferon-producing cell – this
prevents viral reproduction in the neighboring cells)
• Interferon can be dangerous!
▪ Inflammation: creating inflammation and a lot of edema
a ash aa the irus. Furtherore, with
inflammation/edema come neutrophils
o Adaptive response
▪ Humoral system: production of antibody, which attaches
to viruses and neutralizes them. Recall: this is the response
used for extracellular pathogens
▪ Cell-ediated sste: Killer ells are sent to kill the cell.
Recall: this is the response used for intracellular pathogens
(a.k.a. when cells become infected w/ the virus)
• Specific Therapy
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2
o Doing nothing (NOT TECHNICALLY A THERAPY but this is often
the course of action in viral infections which are’t life-
threatening)
o Can also use antiviral drugs, but these are usually reserved for
the worst cases because the drugs themselves are pretty toxic
and viruses develop resistance to them relatively easily.
▪ Interferon may be administered – general, but is restricted
to uosal surfaes though, eause it’s highl toi.
▪ Acyclovir inhibits DNA synthesis, used in the case of
herpesvirus disease. Specific.
▪ Azidothymidine (AZT) is used to inhibit the reverse
transcriptase of HIV. Specific.
▪ Tamiflu inhibits neuraminidase, is used for influenza.
Specific.
▪ Riboviran is used for a wide range of viral infections.
General.
o You can also induce passive immunity by administering an
antiserum to the infected individual. This is a rare treatment
eause there’s a hance that the individual may have an allergic
reaction to the foreign proteins in the antiserum, and that can
be a larger cause of harm than the actual virus.
o Vaccines can be used for prevention (pre-exposure) but can also
be used AFTER exposure to the virus, IF the virus has a long
incubation period, or if the disease is really serious (ex:
ebolavirus). Some viruses may take a very long time to cause the
disease and vaccines only take a couple of weeks to start
working.
▪ Example of post-exposure vaccination: RABIES.
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Document Summary
Functions to alert neighboring cells to the infection of the interferon-producing cell this prevents viral reproduction in the neighboring cells: interferon can be dangerous, inflammation: creating inflammation and a lot of edema (cid:272)a(cid:374) (cid:862)(cid:449)ash a(cid:449)a(cid:455)(cid:863) the (cid:448)irus. Further(cid:373)ore, with inflammation/edema come neutrophils: adaptive response, humoral system: production of antibody, which attaches to viruses and neutralizes them. Recall: this is the response used for extracellular pathogens: cell-(cid:373)ediated s(cid:455)ste(cid:373): (cid:862)killer (cid:272)ells(cid:863) are sent to kill the cell. Specific: azidothymidine (azt) is used to inhibit the reverse transcriptase of hiv. Specific: tamiflu inhibits neuraminidase, is used for influenza. Specific: riboviran is used for a wide range of viral infections. General: you can also induce passive immunity by administering an antiserum to the infected individual. Some viruses may take a very long time to cause the disease and vaccines only take a couple of weeks to start working: example of post-exposure vaccination: rabies.
