Helper virus

(noun)

A helper virus is a virus used when producing copies of a helper dependent viral vector which does not have the ability to replicate on its own. The helper virus is used to coinfect cells alongside the viral vector and provides the necessary enzymes for replication of the genome of the viral vector.

Related Terms

  • Satellite

Examples of Helper virus in the following topics:

  • Defective Viruses

    • Therefore, it is a defective virus and cannot replicate without the help of hepatitis B virus.
    • satellites (nucleic acid molecules with or without a capsid that require a helper virus for infection and reproduction)
    • Satellites depend on co-infection of a host cell with a helper virus for productive multiplication.
    • Their nucleic acids have substantially distinct nucleotide sequences from either their helper virus or host.
    • Therefore, it is a defective virus and cannot replicate without the help of hepatitis B virus.
  • Immunodeficiency

    • Human immunodeficiency virus infection / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), is a disease of the human immune system caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) .
    • After the virus enters the body, there is a period of rapid viral replication, leading to an abundance of virus in the peripheral blood.
    • During primary infection, the level of HIV may reach several million virus particles per milliliter of blood.
    • This response is accompanied by a marked drop in the number of circulating CD4+ T cells, cells that are or will become helper T cells.
    • Ultimately, HIV causes AIDS by depleting CD4+ T cells (helper T cells).
  • Tissue Tropism in Animal Viruses

    • If a cell does not express these receptors then the virus cannot normally infect it.
    • An example of this is the HIV virus, which exhibits tropism for CD4 related immune cells (e.g.
    • T helper cells, macrophages or dendritic cells).
    • These cells express a CD4 receptor, to which the HIV virus can bind, through the gp120 and gp41 proteins on its surface .
    • In virology, Tissue tropism is the cells and tissues of a host that support growth of a particular virus or bacteria.
  • Specific T-Cell Roles

    • T helper cells assist the maturation of B cells and memory B cells while activating cytotoxic T cells and macrophages.
    • Differentiation into helper T cell subtypes occurs during clonal selection following T cell activation of naive T cells.
    • Cytotoxic T cells (TC cells, or CTLs) destroy virus-infected cells and tumor cells, and cause much of the damage in in transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases.
    • Effector memory cells may be either CD4+ or CD8+, and produce either helper or cytotoxic T cells in a secondary immune response.
    • T cells become activated upon encountering a pathogen and can become either cytoxic T or helper T cells.
  • Type IV (Delayed Cell-Mediated) Reactions

    • CD4 cells or helper T cells provide protection against different pathogens.
    • 1. activating antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes that are able to induce apoptosis in body cells displaying epitopes of foreign antigen on their surface, such as virus-infected cells, cells with intracellular bacteria, and cancer cells displaying tumor antigens
    • It is most effective in removing virus-infected cells, but also participates in defending against fungi, protozoans, cancers, and intracellular bacteria.
    • CD4+ helper T cells recognize antigen in a complex with Class 2 major histocompatibility complex.
  • Cell-Mediated Immunity

    • After a virus or bacteria enters a cell, it can no longer be detected by the humoral immune response.
    • To do so, a T cell will become activated by interacting with an antigen of the infecting cell or virus presented on the MHC II of an APC.
    • There are two main types of T cells: helper T lymphocytes (TH) and the cytotoxic T lymphocytes (TC).
    • A helper T cell becomes activated by binding to an antigen presented by an APC via the MHCII receptor, causing it to release cytokines.
  • Antigen-Presenting Cells

    • Antigen presentation stimulates T cells to become either "cytotoxic" CD8+ cells or "helper" CD4+ cells.
    • Recognition of antigenic peptides through Class I by CTLs leads to the killing of the target cell, which is infected by virus, intracytoplasmic bacterium, or are otherwise damaged or dysfunctional.
    • Exogenous antigens are usually displayed on MHC Class II molecules, which interact with CD4+ helper T cells.
    • The antigen is processed and displayed on a MHC II molecule (3), which interacts with a T helper cell (4).
    • In the lower pathway; whole foreign proteins are bound by membrane antibodies (5) and presented to B lymphocytes (6), which process (7) and present antigen on MHC II (8) to a previously activated T helper cell (10), spurring the production of antigen-specific antibodies (9).
  • Types of Cytokines Participating in Immune Response

    • Many interleukins are also considered lymphokines, interleukins released by helper T cells to organize immune responses.
    • They can activate macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells to attack and lyse virus-infected cells.
    • It is a protein released by NK cells, macrophages, and helper T cells, typically in systemic immune responses.
  • Opportunistic Microorganisms

    • Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are particularly susceptible to opportunistic infections.
    • HIV can develop into Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which infects and destroys helper T cells (specifically CD4+ T cells).
  • Humoral Immune Response

    • In most cases, the sensitized B cell must then encounter a specific kind of T cell, called a helper T cell, before it is activated.
    • This activation of the helper T cell occurs when a dendritic cell presents an antigen on its MHC II molecule, allowing the T cell to recognize it and mature.
    • The helper T cell binds to the antigen-MHC class II complex and is induced to release cytokines that induce the B cell to divide rapidly, making thousands of identical (clonal) cells.
    • A later encounter with the antigen, caused by a reinfection by the same bacteria or virus, will result in them dividing into a new population of plasma cells.
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