Evolutionary Analysis (5th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32161-667-7
ISBN 13: 978-0-32161-667-8

Chapter 1 - A Case for Evolutionary Thinking: Understanding HIV - Questions - Page 32: 12

Answer

There are three major hypotheses which may describe why HIV is so lethal. The first hypothesis is that HIV evolves its epitopes continuously, stopping antibodies from binding to and neutralizing the virus. The second hypothesis is that HIV is constantly progressing toward more aggressive replication once it enters a host. The longer a host harbors HIV, the quicker and more efficiently HIV becomes at replicating. Finally, the third hypothesis is that HIV is able to infect naive T-cells, which causes immune memory and enffector T-cells to be disabled. This allows HIV to survive in the hose with very little risk of the immune system destroying it.

Work Step by Step

There are three major hypotheses which may describe why HIV is so lethal. The first hypothesis is that HIV evolves its epitopes continuously, stopping antibodies from binding to and neutralizing the virus. The second hypothesis is that HIV is constantly progressing toward more aggressive replication once it enters a host. The longer a host harbors HIV, the quicker and more efficiently HIV becomes at replicating. Finally, the third hypothesis is that HIV is able to infect naive T-cells, which causes immune memory and enffector T-cells to be disabled. This allows HIV to survive in the hose with very little risk of the immune system destroying it.
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