MUCOSA CELLS AND HIV

This report is written by a teacher of Biology and pitched at the

level of secondary school students.

Once any person reads this report, there will be understanding of

the workings of the mucosa which is the key to infection with HIV.

Let us see the human body in two ways. The first is that it is like a

large tube. On the outside, the tube has a tough skin to prevent all

kinds of external body damage including infection.

There is a softer internal skin that has a velvet touch and is found in

the digestive and reproductive/urinary systems. Feel the velvet skin

inside the mouth. The same soft skin is found in the anus, vagina and

penis.

It is to allow passage of water, food, faeces, semen, urine and babies.

The second is to see the body like a castle. There are guards at every

gate. As well, there are guards in every corridor of the castle.

In the body, there are guards positioned in the mucosa of mouth, anus,

penis and vagina. There are also guards floating around in the blood
and lymph systems.

Guards in the castle have the job of identifying, capturing and disposing

of intruders. Mucosa cells in the body identify, capture and swallow the

germs or viruses.

The protector cells of the body have various names depending on their

function. Cells attached to the mucosal tissues are mucosa cells. These

are supported by cells that capture viruses called langerhans cells.

Langerhans cell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to HIV‎: HIV. Langerhans cells may be initial cellular

targets in the ... vaginal, and oral mucosa of humans; the lower

concentrations in oral ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langerhans_cell - Cached - Similar

Floating cells are called CD4, CD8, dendritic and T cells. These

are generally grouped together and called white blood cells.

But the human race has opened doors to HIV infection. People

have sex through all the doors – mouth, anus, vagina and penis.

How is HIV transmitted

It is therefore extremely efficient at absorbing HIV. The

mucous membrane on ... Higher concentrations of HIV RNA

in rectal mucosa secretions than in blood ...
www.gmfa.org.uk/sex/hivandaids/how-hiv-is-transmitted

- Cached - Similar

Mucosal Dendritic Cells and Immunodeficiency Viruses

by M Pope - 1999 - Cited by 40 - Related articles
within the mucosal surfaces of the tonsillar tissue of

HIV-1-infected persons. More recently, it was demonstrated

that DC-T cell mixtures from the skin, ...
www.jstor.org/stable/30114168

There is a special place in the body that attracts bacteria and
viruses and that is the small intestine.

Small Intestine - Normal mucosa

Small Intestine - Normal mucosa, Small Intestine - HIV
infection. This series of slides of the small intestine shows the
structure and function of the ...

www.immunopaedia.org.za/index.php?id=477 - Cached

Viruses can not get to the small intestine because of the digestive
role of the stomach. Viruses are made of protein and the stomach
juices digest protein.

The HIV virus comes into the small intestine by a different route. It

enters the body through the mucosa guards at anus, penis, vagina
and mouth.

HIV-1 infection of Langerhans cells in a reconstructed vaginal mucosa.

by P Sivard - 2004 - Cited by 16 - Related articles

14 Jun 2004 ... HIV-1 infection of Langerhans cells

in a reconstructed ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15216455 - Similar

It passes into the lymph system and into the blood system. The virus

is attracted to the small intestine by internal attached mucosa guards

in the gut lining.

These are in the gut to protect against bacteria in the small intestine,
the largest accumulation of CD4 in the body.

So the tube and castle have guards at the gates, guards in the blood
and lymph and a large mass of guards in the gut. The major attack
of HIV is on the guards in the gut lining.

We need to understand the HIV virus does not attack the body. It
does not force its way in. It floats like microscopic leaves. It does
not attack the CD4 but is swallowed or engulfed.

Once inside CD4,  HIV attaches to DNA and replicates. Producing

the next generation of HIV destroys the CD4 cells. So it does attack
but by replicating.

In theory, parasites should not kill a host. But there are many people

out there having sex through penis, anus and vagina. The virus is not

affected as a species if millions of hosts die. There are one and a half

billion potential hosts on the planet.