Introduction

to
viruses
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CHARACTERISTICS OF VIRUSES

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 Definition of a Virus
Obligate

Intracellular

Parasite
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 Definition of a Virus
Sub microscopic entity consisting
of a single nucleic acid surrounded
by a protein coat and capable of
replication only within the living
cells of bacteria, animals or
plants.
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 Are Viruses Living or Non-
living?

• Biologists consider viruses to be non-living because:

 Are not cells
 Do not grow or respond to their
surroundings
 Cannot make food, take in food, or produce
wastes
 Viruses do not respond to stimuli.
• They can only multiply if in another living cell
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 What are Viruses?
Definition-

• Viruses are noncellular

particles made up of
genetic material and
protein that can invade
living cells.

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 Discovery of Viruses

•Beijerinck (1897)
coined the Latin name
“virus” meaning poison

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 Tobacco Mosaic Virus

•Wendell Stanley
(1935) discovered
viruses were made of
nucleic acid and protein

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 Smallpox

•Edward Jenner (1796)

developed a smallpox
vaccine using milder
cowpox viruses
Smallpox has been
eradicated in the world
today

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 How Big is a Virus?

• Viruses are very small – smaller than

the smallest cell.

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 Characteristics

• Non living structures

• Non-cellular
• Contain a protein coat called the
capsid
• Have a nucleic acid core containing
DNA or RNA (one or the other - not
both)
• Capable of reproducing only when
inside a HOSTVirologi
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 Characteristics
CAPSID

• Some viruses are DNA

enclosed in an
protective envelope
• Some viruses may have
spikes to help attach
to the host cell
• Most viruses infect
only SPECIFIC host ENVELOPE SPIKE
cells
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 HIV VIRUS EBOLA VIRUS

Characteristics
•Outside of host cells,
viruses are inactive
•Viruses cause many
common illnesses/
diseases
•Some viruses may
cause some cancers
like leukemia
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MEASLES
13
 Characteristics

•Viruses cause many common

illnesses diseases

•Some viruses may cause some

cancers like leukemia

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 Virion Structure
Lipid Envelope Nucleic Acid

Protein
Capsid

Virion
Associated
Spike
Polymerase
Projections

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 Virion Morphology
• Simple Structure
• Repetitive Structure
• High Level of
Redundancy
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 Virus Morphology

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 What do Viruses look like?

• Viruses are unusual and different from other

things in nature.
• Viruses come in a variety of shapes

•Some may be helical shape like the Ebola virus

•Some may be polyhedral shapes like the influenza
virus
•Others have more complex shapes like
bacteriophages
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 Types of Viruses:
Helical Viruses

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 Polyhedral Viruses

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 Complex Viruses

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 Viral Taxonomy

• Family names end in -viridae

• Genus names end in -virus
• Viral species: A group of viruses
sharing the same genetic information
and ecological niche (host).
• Common names are used for species
• Subspecies are designated by a
number
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 Used for Virus
Identification
• Morophology
 RNA or DNA Virus
 Do or do NOT have an envelope
 Capsid shape
 HOST they infect

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 Herpes Virus

SIMPLEX I and II
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 Adenovirus

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Virologi COLD 25
 Influenza Virus

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 Chickenpox Virus

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 Papillomavirus – Warts!

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 HOST SPECIFICITY

• All kingdoms can be infected by viruses

• Viruses are kingdom specific but they may or

may not be species specific

• Spread is specific to the type of virus

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 PARASITISM
• Viruses are parasites.
 A parasite is an organism that
depends upon another living
organism for its existence in such a
way that it harms that organism.

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 Bacteriophages

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 Cylces

• Lysogenic Cycle
 Viral DNA
 May stay inactive in host for long
periods of time
 Long lasting
 Example Mono or chickenpox
• Lytic Cylce
 Short and can be over come
 Example flu virus
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 Virus Replication
1 Virus attachment
and entry
1 2 Uncoating of virion
3 Migration of
genome nucleic
5 acid to nucleus
4 Transcription
4 Genome replication
2 5
6 Translation of virus
3 mRNAs
7 Virion assembly
7 Release of new
8
virus particles
6

8
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 Cytopathic Effect (cpe)
Adenovirus Herpes virus

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Transmission of Viruses
• Respiratory transmission
 Influenza A virus
• Faecal-oral transmission
 Enterovirus
• Blood-borne transmission
 Hepatitis B virus
• Sexual Transmission
 HIV
• Animal or insect vectors
 Rabies virus
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 Virus Tissue Tropism
• Targeting of the virus to specific tissue
and cell types

• Receptor Recognition
 CD4+ cells infected by HIV
 CD155 acts as the receptor for
poliovirus

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 In vivo Disease Processes
• Cell destruction
• Virus-induced changes to gene
expression
• Immunopathogenic disease

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 Acute Virus Infection
Symptoms
Amount of virus

Virus
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Time
Virologi 39
Acute Virus Infections
• Localised to specific site of
body

• Development of viraemia
with widespread infection of
tissues
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Poliovirus

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 Poliovirus
Properties of the virus
• Enterovirus.
• Possesses a RNA
genome.
• Transmitted by the
faecal oral route.
• Cause of
gastrointestinal illness
and poliomyelitis.
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 Poliovirus Infection
Virus
Infection
Non-neuronal
tissues

Gut Viraemia
Neuronal
tissues

Virus excretion
in the faeces
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Paralysis 43
 Incidence of Poliomyelitis
A B

40
Poliovirus vaccines
Number of cases (in thousands)

30 A: Salk – killed inactivated

vaccine.
B: Sabin – live attenuated
20 vaccine

10

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1950 1960
Virologi
1970 1980 44
 Influenza A virus
Properties of the virus
• Myxovirus
• Enveloped virus with a
segmented RNA
genome
• Infects a wide range of
animals other than
humans
• Undergoes extensive
antigenic variation
• Major cause of
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respiratory infections45
Influenza A virus Infection
• Spread by respiratory route
• Virus infects cells of the respiratory
tract
• Destruction of respiratory epithelium
 Secondary bacterial infections
• Altered cytokine expression leading to
fever
 e.g interleukin-1 and interferon
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Spread of influenza virus

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 Respiratory Tract

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Weekly consultation rates for influenza and influenza-like illness: Weekly
Returns Service of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 1988 to
1999

600
Rate per 100 000 population

500
Epidemic activity

400
Higher than expected Baseline activity
300 seasonal activity

200
Normal seasonal activity
100

0
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Year

CDR Weekly Report: 5th November

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Virologi 49
Generation of Novel Influenza A Viruses
Human H2N2

ANTIGENIC SHIFT Human H3N2

Genetic Reassortment

Avian H3N8
Point mutation of HA and NA
genes

ANTIGENIC DRIFT
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Viruses and Human Tumours
• Epstein Barr Virus
 Burkitt’s Lymphoma
• Human papillomavirus
 Benign warts
 Cervical Carcinoma
• Human T-cell Leukaemia Virus (HTLV-1)
 Leukaemia
• Hepatitis C virus
 Liver carcinoma
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Virus-induced tumours
Virus
Infection

[ ]
Uninfected Uncontrolled cell
Cell growth and tumour
? formation
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Virus-induced transformation
Normal cells Transformed cells

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 Virus-Induced Tumours
• Virus infects cell.
• Virus nucleic acid, as DNA,
integrates into cellular genome.
• Virus causes changes in cellular gene
expression.
• Uncontrolled cell multiplication and
tumour formation.

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Treatment and Prevention
of Virus Infections
• Antivirals

• Vaccines and immunisation

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 Vaccine

• Is a weaken form of the virus

 To expose your immune system to the virus
which will allow your body to better fight
off the virus when exposed to the full blow
virus.

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 Vector Control
• This is controlling the vectors that are
carrying the virus.
• Examples:
 We stay home when sick, cover our
mouth when we cough etc.
 We control the mosquito population in
order to control the West Nile virus

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 Other Drug Treatments

•Specific to certain
viruses.

•They don’t cure the

virus but they can
slow down and inhibit
the multiplication of
the virus.
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 Reducing the Risk
They can’t be treated but they can be
prevented!
• Cover mouth/nose when you sneeze of
cough
• Wash hands frequently
• Avoid contact with the body fluids
• Not foolproof but reduces the risks

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 Antiviral Targets
• Attachment/Entry
• Nucleic acid replication
• Virus protein processing
• Virus maturation
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 Problems with Antivirals
• Identification of virus-specific
target.

• Generation of resistant variants.

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