CHAPTER 4
THE
VIRUSES
Group 4
CHAPTER 4
WHAT IS
VIRUS?
Group 4
Viruses are uniquely different from the
many uni-cellular micro-organisms.
Viruses are obligatory intracellular
parasites they absolutely require living host
cells in order to multiply.
ARE VIRUSES
LIVING OR NOT?
Group 4
NOT!
Because viruses are inert outside living host cells, in
this sense they are NOT considered to be living
organisms. Once viruses enter a host, viral
multiplication takes place, they can be considered
ALIVE.
VIRUSES CAN
AFFECT:
VIRUSES ARE ENTITIES
THAT:
• Contain a single type of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA.
• Contain a protein coat (sometimes itself enclosed by an envelope of lipids,
proteins, and carbohydrates) that surrounds the nucleic acid.
• Multiply inside living cells by using the synthesizing machinery of the cell.
• Cause the synthesis of specialized structures that can transfer the viral
nucleic acid to other cells.
VIRUSES ARE ENTITIES
THAT:
• Viruses have few or no enzymes of their own for metabolism
• They lack enzyme for protein synthesis and ATP generation.
• To multiply, viruses must take over the metabolic machinery of the host
cell.
VIRAL SIZE
• Viral sizes are determined with the aid of electron microscopy. Different viruses
vary considerably in size. Although most are quite a bit smaller than bacteria,
some of the larger viruses (such as the vaccinia virus) are about the same size as
some very small bacteria (such as the mycoplasmas, rickettsias, and
chlamydias). Viruses range from 20 to 1000 nm in length.
VIRAL SIZE
HOW DO VIRUSES
CAUSES DISEASE
HOW DO VIRUSES CAUSES DISEASE
Viruses are capable of
infecting all types of living
organism from bacteria to
humans, (including plants and
insects!).
HOW DO VIRUSES CAUSES DISEASE
A major factor that controls which cell type a virus can infect (cell tropism) is the
presence (on the cell surface) of the appropriate receptor, to which the virus must attach
in order to gain entry into the cell.
HOW DO VIRUSES CAUSES DISEASE
Viral particles can enter the body through the skin or mucous membranes by eating,
inhalation, sexual contact, or injection. A mother can occasionally transmit an infection to
her fetus through the placenta, a process known as vertical transmission. Once a virus
enters the body, it can either spread widely or stay localized to the site of entry (the
influenza virus, for example, only spreads to the respiratory tract). In this case, the virus
replicates at the point of entrance before moving on to the bloodstream (viraemia) or
lymphatic system and circulating throughout the body (e.g., measles).
HOST RANGE
Host Range
• The host range of a virus is the spectrum of host cells the virus can infect. There are viruses
that infect:
⚬ invertebrates,
⚬ vertebrates,
⚬ plants,
⚬ protists,
⚬ fungi,
⚬ bacteria.
• Viruses that infect bacteria are called bacteriophages, or phages.
• Most viruses are able to infect specific types of cells of only one host species.
VIRUSES AND
CANCER
VIRUSES AND CANCER
About 15% of human cancers are caused by viruses. Certain persistent
viruses survive in the host by transforming the cells they infect
(inducing infected cells to proliferate). However, the virus infection is
only the first step in the pathway to malignancy and only a small
percentage of infected people actually get cancer.
VIRUSES AND CANCER
Common virus-induced cancers include:
• Carcinoma of the cervix (Human papillomavirus)
• Liver cancer (hepatitis B and C)
• Kaposi Sarcoma (Human herpesvirus 8) and;
• Burkitts Lymphoma (Epstein Barr virus)
VIRUSES AND CANCER
VIRAL
STRUCTIRE
VIRAL STRUCTIRE
A.
AVIRION
virion is a complete, fully developed, infectious viral particle composed of
nucleic acid and surrounded by a protein coat. An infectious agent composed of
nucleic acid (RNA or DNA), a protein shell (capsid) and, in some cases, a lipid
envelope.
VIRAL STRUCTIRE
1. Capsid and capsomeres.
The protein coat that surrounds the viral nucleic acid. This is composed of
repeating protein subunits called capsomeres. Generally, capsids have either
helical or icosahedral symmetry.
VIRAL STRUCTIRE
2. Nucleocapsid.
The complete protein-nucleic acid complex.
NUCLEIC ACID
A virus can either have a DNA or RNA but never both u Can be single stranded or
double stranded u Can be linear or circular u Total amount of nucleic acid varies from
few thousand nucleotides to 250,000 nucleotides (E. coli's chromosome is approx 4M
nucleotide pairs).
CAPSID
Protein coat surrounding the nucleic acid of the virus, accounts for most of the mass of
the virus. Each capsid is composed of protein subunits called capsomeres.
MORPHOLOGICAL
Helical Virus
TYPES
• Resemble long rods that may be rigid or flexible
• Nucleic acid is found within a hollow, cylindrical capsid
• Rabies and Ebola hemorrhagic fever
MORPHOLOGICAL
Polyhedral viruses
TYPES
• Many-sided viruses
• The capsid is in the shape of an icosahedron, a regular
polyhedron with 20 triangular faces and 12 corners
• The capsomeres of each face form an Equilateral triangle
• Ex Poliovirus, Adenovirus
MORPHOLOGICAL
Enveloped viruses
TYPES
• Capsid covered by an envelope
• Roughly spherical
• Enveloped helical or enveloped
polyhedral
• Ex. enveloped helical-Influenzavirus,
enveloped polyhedral - herpes simplex
virus
MORPHOLOGICAL
Complex Viruses
TYPES
• Have complicated structures
• Ex. bacteriophages, poxviruses which do
not contain clearly identifiable capsids but
have several coats around the nucleic acid.
MORPHOLOGICAL
TYPES
BACTERIOPHAG
E
BACTERIOPHAGE
A bacteriophage, or phage for short,
is a virus that indicts bacteria. Like
other types of viruses, bacteriophages
vary a lot in their shape and genetic
material.
BACTERIOPHAGE
• Phage genomes can consist of either DNA or RNA, and can
contain as few as far genes or as many as several hundred
• The capsid of a bacteriophage can be icosahedral,
filamentous, or head-tail in shape. The head-tail structure
seems to be unique to phages and their close relatives (and
is not found in eukaryotic viruses)
BACTERIOPHAGE
BACTERIOPHAGE
There are two different cycles that bacteriophages may use to infect their bacterial
hosts:
The lytic cycle: The phage infects a
bacterium, hijacks the bacterium to
make lots of phages, and then kills the
cell by making it explode (lyse).
BACTERIOPHAGE
There are two different cycles that bacteriophages may use to infect their bacterial
hosts:
The lysogenic cycle: The phage infects a bacterium and inserts its DNA into the
bacterial chromosome, allowing the phage DNA (now called a prophage) to be copied
and passed on along with the cell's own DNA.
BACTERIOPHAGE
VIROIDS
VIROIDS
• Viroids are small single-stranded, circular RNAs that are infectious pathogens.
Unlike viruses, they have no protein coating.
• All known viroids are inhabitants of angiosperms (flowering plants), and most
cause diseases, whose respective economic importance to humans varies widely.
PRIONS
PRIONS
Prions are not viruses but are often discussed
within this microbiologic category. Prions are
infectious protein molecules that contain no
definable nucleic acid and are responsible for
the transmissible and familial spongiform
encephalopathies.
CLASSIFICATIO
N of virus
CLASSIFICATION OF VIRUS
Modern classification is based on the following three characteristics:
A. Type of viral nucleic acid (RNA or B. Capsid symmetry (icosahedral or
DNA, single-stranded or double- helical).
stranded)
and its replication strategy
PATHOGENESIS
OF VIRAL
DISEASES
PATHOGENESIS OF VIRAL
DISEASES
As with other infectious agents which cause human disease, the outcome of
the interaction of a particular virus with the human host is dependent on
both pathogen and host factors. Viral strains within a genus may have
differential cell tropisms, replication capacities and cytopathogenic effects.
PATHOGENESIS OF VIRAL
DISEASES
As an example, strains of HIV may preferentially target monocyte/macrophages or T-
lymphocytes, may use different co-receptors (e.g., the chemokine receptors, CCR5 or
CXCR4) on the cell surface, may replicate to different levels and may induce
different degrees of cell killing. These traits have direct clinical correlates for HIV
infected persons with respect to the rates of CD4 cell decline and progression to
clinical AIDS. On the host side, the nature of the exposure and the host immune
status are probably the two most important determinants of outcome.
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF THE VIRUS HOST INTERACTION
ARE:
1. Viral strain.
2. Inoculum size.
3. Route of exposure.
4. Susceptibility of host (i.e., is there pre-existent
immunity from past exposure or vaccination?).
5. Immune status and age of host.
THE NET RESULT OF THIS INTERACTION MAY BE:
1. No infection.
2. Abortive infection with limited viral replication.
3. Asymptomatic infection.
4. Symptomatic infection.
5. Depending upon the agent and the immune status of the host,
persistent/latent or self-
limited infection.
IMMUNE
RESPONSES TO
VIRAL
INFECTIONS
IMMUNE RESPONSES TO VIRAL INFECTIONS
1. Innate (non-specific) immunity refers to those elements of the immune system that
can clear virus or virus infected cells immediately upon or shortly after viral exposure
and which are not dependent upon immunologic memory. Non-specific immunity may
include:
a. Phagocytic cells (neutrophils and monocyte/macrophages).
b. Cytokines (e.g., interferons) and chemokines.
c. Natural killer cells.
d. Poorly defined antiviral factors that may exist in blood or body fluids.
IMMUNE RESPONSES TO VIRAL INFECTIONS
2. Adaptive (specific) immunity refers to antigen specific B and T cell responses that
lead to the development of antibodies, cytotoxic T cells and antibody dependent cellular
cytotoxicity.
3. In some instances, an intense immunologic reaction to a viral agent can result in
immunopathology and a serious clinical syndrome.
A prime example is dengue hemorrhagic fever which is likely due to antibody
dependent enhancement and T cell activation on re- exposure to dengue virus.
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