More than 20 years ago, an epidemic of the most terrible and incomprehensible viral disease of our time, AIDS, began in the world. Its infectiousness, rapid spread and incurability have earned the disease the fame of the "plague of the 20th century."

History of origin

Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus (AIDS), caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), is a deadly disease with no cure at present.

Some scientists believe that the HIV virus was transmitted from monkeys to humans around 1926. Recent research indicates that a person acquired this virus in West Africa. Until the 1930s, the virus did not manifest itself in any way. In 1959, a man died in Congo, and later medical research, analyzing his medical history, indicated that this was possibly the first recorded death from AIDS in the world. In 1969, the first cases of a disease with symptoms of AIDS were recorded among prostitutes in the United States. Then the doctors did not pay special attention to them, considering them a rare form of pneumonia. In 1978, homosexuals in the United States and Sweden, as well as heterosexual men in Tanzania and Haiti, showed symptoms of the same disease.

And only in 1981, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the detection of a new disease in young homosexuals in Los Angeles and New York. In the United States, about 440 carriers of the HIV virus have been identified. About 200 of these people have died. Since most of the patients were homosexuals, the new disease was named "Gay Related Immuno Deficiency" (GRID) or "Homosexual Cancer" (A Gay Cancer).

On June 5, 1981, an American scientist at the Center for Disease Control, Michael Gottlieb, first described a new disease that deeply affects the immune system. A thorough analysis led American researchers to the conclusion that there was a previously unknown syndrome, which in 1982 was named Aquired Immune Deficience Syndrom (AIDS) - acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). At the same time, AIDS was called the disease of the four "H", by the capital letters of English words - homosexuals, hemophiliacs, Haitians and heroin, thus highlighting the risk groups for the new disease.

Immune deficiency (decreased immunity), from which AIDS patients suffered, was previously encountered only as a congenital defect of premature newborns. Doctors found that in these patients, the decrease in immunity was not congenital, but was acquired in adulthood.

In 1983, the French scientist Montagnier established the viral nature of the disease. He found a virus in a lymph node removed from an AIDS patient, calling it LAV (lymphadenopathy associated virus).

On April 24, 1984, the director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland, Dr. Robert Gallo, announced that he had found the true cause of AIDS. He managed to isolate the virus from the peripheral blood of AIDS patients. He isolated a retrovirus called HTLV-III (Human T-lymphotropic virus type III). These two viruses were found to be identical.

In 1985 it was found that HIV is transmitted through body fluids: blood, semen, breast milk. In the same year, the first HIV test was developed, on the basis of which donated blood and its preparations began to be tested for HIV in the USA and Japan.
In 1986, Montagnier's group announced the discovery of a new virus called HIV-2 (HIV-2). A comparative study of the HIV-1 and HIV-2 genomes has shown that in evolutionary terms, HIV-2 is far from HIV-1. The authors suggested that both viruses existed long before the modern AIDS epidemic. HIV-2 was first isolated in 1985 from AIDS patients in Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands. Studies have shown that diseases caused by HIV-2 and HIV-1 are independent infections, since there are differences in the characteristics of pathogens, clinic and epidemiology.

In 1987, the World Health Organization approved the name of the causative agent of AIDS - "human immunodeficiency virus" (HIV, or in the English abbreviation HIV).

In 1987, the WHO Global AIDS Program was established and the Global AIDS Strategy was adopted by the World Health Assembly. In the same year, in a number of countries, the first antiviral drug, azidothymidine (zidovudine, retrovir), is being introduced into the treatment of patients.

It must be emphasized that HIV and AIDS are not synonymous. AIDS is a broader concept and means immunity deficiency. This condition can occur as a result of a variety of reasons: in chronic debilitating diseases, exposure to radiation energy, in children with defects in the immune system and in elderly patients with involution of immune defense, some medications and hormonal drugs. Currently, the name AIDS is used to refer to only one of the stages of HIV infection, namely its manifest stage.

HIV infection is a new infectious disease that was named before the discovery of its pathogen as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV infection is a progressive anthroponous infectious disease with a blood-contact mechanism of infection, characterized by a specific damage to the immune system with the development of severe immunodeficiency, which manifests itself in secondary infections, malignant neoplasms and autoimmune processes.

The source HIV infection is a person with AIDS or an asymptomatic virus carrier. The main mechanism of infection transmission is blood contact. The disease is transmitted through sexual contact, especially homosexual ones; from an infected mother to a child during pregnancy through the placenta, during childbirth, during breastfeeding from mother to fetus; through razors and other piercing and cutting objects, toothbrushes, etc. HIV epidemiologists do not allow the existence of airborne and fecal-oral transmission routes, since the excretion of HIV with sputum, urine and feces is very insignificant, and the number susceptible cells in the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract.

There is also an artificial transmission route: during medical and diagnostic manipulations by the penetration of the virus through damaged skin, mucous membranes (transfusion of blood and its preparations, organ and tissue transplantation, injections, operations, endoscopic procedures, etc.), artificial insemination, with intravenous administration of drugs, performing various kinds of tattoos.

The risk group includes: passive homosexuals and prostitutes, who are more likely to damage the mucous membranes in the form of microcracks. Among women, the main risk group is drug addicts who inject drugs intravenously. Among sick children, 4/5 are children whose mothers have AIDS, are infected with HIV or belong to known risk groups. The second most frequent place is taken by children who have received blood transfusions, the third - by hemophilia patients, medical personnel who have professional contact with blood and other biological fluids of HIV-infected patients.

The immunodeficiency virus can exist in the human body for ten to twelve years without showing itself in any way. And many people do not pay enough attention to the initial signs of its manifestation, taking them for the symptoms of other, at first glance, not dangerous diseases. If you do not start the treatment process on time, the final stage of HIV - AIDS begins. The immunodeficiency virus can become the basis for the development of other infectious diseases. Along with the risk of developing AIDS, the risk of other infectious diseases also increases.

Symptoms

The last stage - AIDS - proceeds in three clinical forms: onco-AIDS, neuro-AIDS and infectious-AIDS. Onco-AIDS is manifested by Kaposi's sarcoma and brain lymphoma. Neuro-AIDS is characterized by a variety of lesions of the central nervous system and peripheral nerves. As for infectious AIDS, it manifests itself in numerous infections.

With the transition of HIV to the final stage - AIDS - the symptoms of the disease become more pronounced. A person is increasingly beginning to be affected by various diseases, such as pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, herpes virus and other diseases called opportunistic infections. It is they who lead to the most dire consequences. At this time, the immunodeficiency virus becomes a serious illness. It happens that the patient's condition is so serious that the person is not even able to get out of bed. Such people most often are not even subject to hospitalization, but are at home under the supervision of people close to them.

Diagnostics

The main method of laboratory diagnosis of HIV infection is the detection of antibodies to the virus using enzyme immunoassay.

Treatment

At the present stage of development of medicine, there is no drug that can completely cure this disease. However, with the timely initiation of HIV treatment, it is possible to postpone for a long time the moment of the transition of the immunodeficiency virus to the development of AIDS, and, consequently, prolong a more or less normal life for the patient.

Treatment regimens have already been developed that can significantly slow down the development of the disease, and since the infection proceeds in most cases for a long time, one can hope to create effective therapeutic agents during this time.

AIDS NO

Sensation from Health magazine

"There is no AIDS!" - says Professor of the University of California (USA) Peter Duesberg. The virus, recognized as a killer of the immune system, in his opinion, is absolutely harmless. "If they told me that I am HIV-infected, - said the scientist, - I would not worry about this for a second!"

Cause ... AIDS drugs. Some experts believe that the disease occurs due to the use of drugs - cocaine, heroin and LSD, which weaken the immune system, as well as ... with specific treatment with the drug against HIV infection - zidovudine. In Africa, where the incidence is especially high, hunger and poor sanitary standards of the population harm the immune system. As controversial as this point of view may seem, it is shared by the Nobel laureate chemist Carey Mullis.

The AIDS virus was artificially created by American scientists developing bacteriological weapons. This idea was put forward in the late 1980s by the immunologist Jacob Sigal. US citizen Dr. Robert Strecker went even further with this speculation. He accused his own government that the AIDS virus was specially bred in closed laboratories by government orders in order to cleanse American society of drug addicts, homosexuals and representatives of the African race.

If AIDS did not exist, it would have to be invented. Some researchers have expressed such a paradoxical point of view. They believe they can easily transform a versatile killer and destroyer into a versatile healer. By changing the structure of the virus using genetic engineering, scientists plan to soon save mankind not only from AIDS, but also from cancer, as well as several thousand other diseases.

STAGES OF A BIG WAY

The AIDS epidemic is developing according to the laws discovered by American doctors.

The first to come under attack are homosexuals: in their environment, the virus creates the main springboard for an attack on society. However, scientists say that those who hastened to declare AIDS as a punishment for same-sex love are wrong. As the incidence rises in a given country, the risk of contracting AIDS steadily increases for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.

Then drug addicts who become infected through infected syringes become hostages of the disease.

After a while, representatives of the ancient profession and their clients join them.

In the end, the moment comes when the AIDS virus becomes the property of the entire population of the country - from now on, not a single respectable citizen can feel completely protected from HIV infection. In the United States, for example, an insidious virus is increasingly trapping women in the marriage bed: often respectable wives become infected from unfaithful husbands and transmit the virus to unborn children.

A pregnant woman can infect an unborn child through the placenta, in addition, the virus enters the baby's body through the skin, on which microscopic damage occurs during childbirth. A nursing mother can infect a baby through breast milk. Unfortunately, children go from contact with the pathogen to pronounced manifestations of the disease faster than adults: at an early age, the immune system is still being formed and is not able to resist the disease.

Chastity belt as a barrier against AIDS

Since the discovery of the AIDS virus, scientists have not found a cure that guarantees complete cure. All modern drugs only postpone or stop the development of the disease, but not a single HIV-infected person has yet recovered with their help. The most effective way to fight AIDS is to return to traditional family values. Because of HIV infection, the era of the sexual revolution in the West is irrevocably a thing of the past. The civilized world increasingly prefers premarital chastity and swan fidelity in marriage to the fleeting pleasure of casual relationships. In the USA and Europe, virginity is back in fashion!

The best AIDS tests in one in a thousand healthy people fail - a false positive. Every year 20 million HIV tests are carried out in Russia, and 20 thousand people experience stress due to an erroneous result. If the test turns out to be positive, do not panic ahead of time: go through a second test.

Didn't your chosen one have a certificate of medical "reliability"? Use condoms. By the way, the information published by some foreign publications that the pores of latex are 50 times larger than the size of the AIDS virus is not true: latex does not have natural pores at all. The holes in the condom appear either due to the manufacturer's fault or due to improper use. But even in this case, the risk of infection is reduced by 10,000 times!

MICROBIOLOGICAL "SANDWICH" AGAINST HIV INFECTION

AIDS viruses are embedded in the genetic apparatus of cells, turning them into incubators for a new generation of their own kind.

But smallpox is also a viral disease, but it was defeated 200 years ago with a vaccine. Why not create a similar AIDS prevention tool? Scientists have long tried to solve this problem, but to date, only one such vaccine has been approved for the stage of clinical trials. Whether it is effective or not will become clear only in 2003, when a medical experiment involving 2,500 volunteers is over.

Scientists have found a way to create a kind of microbiological “sandwich”: taking a virus harmless to humans as a basis, they applied a gene borrowed from the AIDS pathogen to it. Such a vaccine is absolutely safe: it is not capable of causing disease. Its task is to deceive the immunodeficiency virus. Having found a genetic “relative” in the body, it will not change, which means that the defense system will be able to find and neutralize the microscopic criminal, developing immunity against HIV infection.

Employees of the Thomas Jefferson University from Philadelphia (USA) proposed an original solution to this complex problem: to take the virus ... rabies as the basis for the vaccine. Scientists are convinced that a live weakened rabies virus with a built-in HIV gene will force the body's defense system to always be on the alert, which will save the patient from repeated vaccinations.

HISTORY OF MEDICAL INVESTIGATION

In the late 1970s, an infection unknown to science began to spread in the homosexual community of San Francisco.

In the early 1980s, AIDS cases on the American continent, Europe and Africa increased so much that doctors started talking about a worldwide epidemic.

In 1983, scientists established that the disease is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Unlike pathogens of other infections that disrupt the work of individual tissues or organs, HIV incapacitates the protective cells of the immune system - lymphocytes, which are tasked with fighting all violators of the internal sovereignty of the body.

At the end of the twentieth century, 40 thousand US citizens are infected with HIV every year, and every day about 16 thousand people around the world learn that they have a positive reaction to AIDS. The total number of carriers of the virus who still do not have clinical manifestations of HIV infection worldwide has exceeded 10 million, and the number of patients has exceeded one million. In some regions of the African continent, AIDS has become the leading cause of death for residents.

At the turn of the third millennium, Russia found itself on the verge of an AIDS epidemic. In Moscow alone, 7,000 HIV-infected citizens are officially registered.

In 1999, 12.3 times more Muscovites and guests of the capital were infected with the plague of the 20th century compared to 1998.

During the winter of 2000, 1,181 residents of the capital became a carrier of the AIDS virus. In addition to the capital, a tense epidemiological situation has developed in the Kaliningrad Region and Krasnodar Territory. The main blow falls on the future of the nation: 89% of all HIV-infected Russians are young people from 15 to 20 years old.

For 4 months of 2000, almost 9,000 people with a positive reaction to AIDS were registered in Russia, and the total number of detected carriers of the virus exceeded 37,000. But this is not the final figure: according to the calculations of scientists, for each virus carrier detected there are 5-10 infected "illegal immigrants". This means that in fact about 300 thousand Russians are victims of HIV infection.

Based on materials from domestic and foreign press

D. V. KOVALEV,

candidate of Medical Sciences

Health magazine # 8 for 2000.

The history of the discovery of HIV and AIDS is full of contradictions. In the second half of the 20th century, doctors in the USA and Europe were alarmed by cases of strange diseases with a fatal outcome: the body of young patients was completely disconnected from the struggle for life. The virus-killer of human immunity was "caught" by scientists in 1983, the place of its birth was established - Africa. Since then, it has spread throughout the world, infecting more than 50 million people. Perhaps by solving the mystery of the emergence of HIV among humans, scientists will stop AIDS, the deadly disease caused by this virus.

In the photo, the same mysterious virus - HIV, which leads to the development of AIDS and scientific facts about the appearance of the disease

In the summer of 1981. in the medical circles of the United States, the first official message about a new disease for humanity appeared. She was called the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome - AIDS. At first, the disease was considered "homosexual cancer" - it was in this category of US residents that the first victims appeared. Against the background of complete suppression of immunity, patients died of pneumonia, skin cancer, fungal and herpetic infections. It was soon noticed that not only homosexuals, but also women prostitutes suffered from this disease. Similar symptoms have been found in drug addicts. Discussions began about what is the nature of AIDS, where it came from.

The disease began to acquire a threatening character when immunodeficiency syndrome became widespread among patients with hemophilia. The suspicion that the disease could be transmitted through blood transfusion was confirmed at the end of 1982.

A large group of carriers of the mysterious disease were immigrants from Haiti - this fact opened the veil over the mystery of the origin of AIDS. The ill residents of the island were not homosexuals from the United States or drug addicts - the carriers of the disease in Haiti were originally from Africa.

A brief history of the origin of the epidemic today is as follows:

• In 1959, a resident of Congo (Central Africa) died with symptoms of AIDS; it is assumed that the infection was already widespread there at this time, and immigrants from Africa may have transferred AIDS to the Caribbean.
• In the United States, the disease came from Haiti in 1969-1971: (scientists came to this conclusion based on the analysis of the earliest American HIV samples).
• The sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the hippie movement did their job: hundreds of thousands of people were already infected with AIDS by the time doctors sounded the alarm.
• In the 80s. AIDS spread throughout the United States, from where it became known throughout the world.

Discovery of HIV

It is important to separate the concept of HIV - HIV and AIDS - AIDS

The development of the epidemic left no doubt that AIDS was an infectious disease. What is its causative agent did not remain a mystery for long - the situation became clear in 1983. Almost simultaneously, Luc Montagnier in France and Robert Gallo in the United States isolated the pathogen from the lymph nodes and blood of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The virus strains obtained in Europe and America turned out to be identical. Since 1987, by decision of the World Health Organization, the causative agent of AIDS has been named HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), and the disease itself has become known as HIV infection.

This man is the discoverer of the human immunodeficiency virus

After the discovery of the immunodeficiency virus, its close study began.

1. It was found that infection can occur during the contact of biological fluids of a sick and healthy person, these include blood, semen, vaginal secretions, mother's milk.
2. It was found that a retrovirus (and HIV belongs to this particular family of viruses), once it enters the bloodstream, infects T-lymphocytes. Their decrease in the blood indicates the development of infection, but the disease itself develops asymptomatically.
3. It became clear that AIDS symptoms would begin to appear when HIV destroys a huge number of lymphocytes, and the body cannot resist even the smallest infection.

However, until now, scientists have not been able to answer the question of where HIV came from. One of the most popular theories about the origin of AIDS is the infection of humans from monkeys. Chimpanzees of West Africa are carriers of a retro virus similar to human HIV. After being bitten or injured while cutting the carcass of an animal, the monkey virus could enter the blood of people and trigger a mutation that is dangerous for humans. The ancestor of the virus, identical to human HIV, appears in 1930 - this result was obtained by scientists in the course of computer reconstruction. At the same time, experiments were carried out on transplanting a thyroid gland to humans from monkeys. The purpose of the operations was both the return of youth and the restoration of the sexual function of the representatives of humanity, worn out by life. It was then, perhaps, that HIV and the first cases of AIDS appeared.

Supporters of another theory - HIV dissidents - believe that AIDS is not a viral disease, but develops as a result of a non-standard immune response to a foreign protein. The refutation of this opinion was the fact that HIV was found, studied in the works of many scientists, official medicine today can significantly prolong the life of patients using antiviral therapy.

History of the AIDS epidemic

The development of the AIDS epidemic, the history of the disease has not been fully clarified by scientists. You cannot scientifically disprove or prove theories that explain that AIDS is a biological weapon, it was created artificially in the secret laboratories of the Pentagon, with the aim of destroying people.

It is important to know not only where AIDS came from, but also what circumstances can be infected, in the photo one of the vivid examples of probable infection, blood for transfusion and an explanation of the causes of infection, even after the donor was tested for HIV

Most scientists still think of Africa as the birthplace of AIDS. Here, in the 1930s, the first transmission of the immunodeficiency virus from monkeys to humans took place. The first AIDS deaths deep in Africa did not receive much attention. The new disease was noticed soon after it spread to other continents.

In 1969, in Missouri, doctors drew attention to the strange death of a homosexual Negro teenager from Pneumocystis pneumonia. Now, doctors consider pneumocytosis a typical clinical picture for those with HIV.

The infection of the sailor Arne, who opened an account for AIDS victims in Europe, occurred in Africa. Many years later - in 1975 - he, his wife and daughter died from the symptoms characteristic of AIDS: lymphodema, pneumonia.

A popular belief among doctors in the early 1980s was that the patients with AIDS symptoms were all homosexual men. It soon became clear that not only men, but also women and children were among the HIV-infected. This fact can be illustrated by the history of AIDS in Russia.

• Translator Vladimir has been seeking help from doctors since 1982, his disease was beyond diagnosis. The answer was the fact that the patient had Kaposi's sarcoma, a disease that in the 80s became an indicator of HIV infection. Vladimir understood well how he got AIDS: being a homosexual, he contracted the infection in Tanzania, and upon his return, he managed to infect 14 more people. He died of illness in 1991.
• Earlier (in 1988) Olga G., who had contacts with African tourists, died of pneumocystosis. She was diagnosed with AIDS after her death.
• There is an opinion that homosexuals and drug addicts are the main carriers of HIV. In the late 1980s, HIV infection was the main public health problem in the United States, and measures to prevent it were actively promoted there. And in the children's hospitals in Elista, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don at that time they did not even think about where AIDS could come from. Just because of the negligence of the medical staff, about two hundred people were infected with HIV, most of whom are children. Today Russia is one of the top three countries in the world in terms of the rate of HIV infection spread: only South Africa and Nigeria are ahead.

Classification of HIV infection

In the 90s of the XX century. WHO has developed a classification of human immunodeficiency syndrome, using advances in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Today, medicine puts all changes in the blood in accordance with the clinical manifestations of the disease. Doctors distinguish the following stages of HIV infection:

1. Acute retroviral syndrome. The virus enters the bloodstream and begins to multiply actively, symptoms similar to severe flu appear. The number of T-lymphocytes in the blood drops, but antibodies to the virus are not detected. The duration of the acute period is from 0.5 to 3 months.
2. Stage of primary manifestations. There is an increase in lymph nodes in different parts of the body. The amount of antibodies to the virus increases in the blood - the only definable symptom of the disease at this stage. A temporary balance is established between infection and the immune response to it. The latency state can last for many years (up to 15-20), on average, the stage lasts 6-8 years.
3. Stage of secondary diseases. Recurrent fungal, viral and bacterial infections develop against the background of depletion of the body's immune forces. The content of T-lymphocytes in the blood drops to 28-14%. Without treatment, a patient can live for 1-2 years.
4. AIDS is the fatal stage of immunodeficiency. In general, its manifestations are associated with lymphomas and Kaposi's sarcoma, pneumocystis pneumonia and other opportunistic infections against the background of a complete failure of the immune system. Without treatment, death occurs within six months, therapy prolongs the life of patients, but not for long.

At all stages of the disease, the patient is able to infect others, this danger increases as sexual intercourse with various partners increases.

Epidemiology of AIDS

The AIDS epidemic in the United States began 2 years after the first description of its symptoms, and a year later they began to talk about the HIV epidemic around the world. Could the disease have spread throughout the earth in such a short time? Today, scientists associate the reasons for the high rate of spread of the disease with the latent period of its development. 6-7 years pass between infection and clinical symptoms, so the beginning of the epidemic falls on the 70s of the last century. Unaware of their diagnosis, hundreds of people infected their partners with HIV, spreading the infection across the land.

30 years after the discovery of the disease, 60 million people have already been infected with it. Most patients are in Africa (67%), South Asia and Southeast Asia (18%). The USA, China, and Russia are home to 3% of all HIV-infected people. Drug injections and unprotected heterosexual relationships are most associated with the disease. A dangerous trend for Russia is the involvement of socially prosperous people among the infected.

According to one of the hypotheses, HIV has existed since ancient times and evolved along with humans as they spread across the planet. Perhaps for a long time he caused endemic AIDS diseases in remote, isolated corners of Central Africa, for example, in tribal settlements lost in the jungle. And since life expectancy in remote areas of the African continent did not exceed 30 years, Aboriginal people who became infected with HIV died before AIDS developed. This idea is suggested by the fact that Africa is home to many dangerous diseases (Ebola, malaria, etc.).

According to another version, HIV could arise from a safe precursor virus as a result of the action of radioisotopes of strontium and other elements released during the explosion of a hydrogen bomb. This assumption is based on the coincidence of the place and time of the alleged emergence of the virus and the test of a powerful hydrogen bomb (1954, Bikini Atoll near the equator).

The hypothesis seems to be the most reasonable, according to which HIV traces its ancestry to SIV, the African monkey virus: in ancient times, mutants of the green monkey immunodeficiency virus transformed and acquired a new host - a human; or HIV has occurred as a result of random genetic recombinations between long-standing human and animal leukemia viruses with mouse mammary tumor virus or SIV.

Geneticists determine the ancestry of any organism based on the comparison of genomes (DNA nucleotide sequences) with each other. The relationship between the similarity of the genomes of different organisms and the degree of evolutionary relationship between them has been established. This is due to the fact that, in the course of evolution, as they move away from each other, organisms increasingly differ in the sequence of nucleotides in their DNA. Differences arise from random changes (mutations) that occur in DNA during replication. These random changes occur at a certain pace, like the accumulation of grains of sand in an hourglass. Therefore, the idea arose of a "biological clock" by which one can establish the degree of kinship of different organisms. So, a person has very small DNA located in mitochondria. Since mitochondria are transmitted to children mainly from the mother, based on the analysis of mitochondrial DNA, it was possible to establish the degree of kinship between living people and to establish with a high degree of probability the time and place where the "genetic" Eve appeared many thousands of years ago.

The question of the origin of HIV types 1 and 2 is one of the key issues in the modern understanding of the AIDS problem, since its solution largely determines the directions of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of this pathology.

So, the following AIDS pathogens are known:

human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - LAV / HTLV-3 (HIV, HIV-1), distributed mainly in America, Europe, central, eastern and southern regions of Africa; monkey-related viruses of the subgroup of West African T-lymphotropic retroviruses (LAV-2, HIV-2, HIV-2), isolated by L. Montagnier's group in 1986. From African AIDS patients from Guinea. HTLV-4 virus, isolated by American scientists from representatives of high-risk groups (Senegal). Distributed mainly in Africa.

Cases of simultaneous existence in the human body of HIV-1, HIV-2 and HTLV-4 in various combinations are described.

On the origin of human immunodeficiency viruses, the literature contains a lot of data, sometimes contradictory and not always complete. The controversy continues. As the material accumulated, hypotheses of the origin of HIV arose, the main of which will be given below.

The virus was created artificially at the end of the 70s of this century by means of genetic engineering methods based on new knowledge about the effect of various kinds of radiation, immunosuppressants and mononuclear antibodies on various parts of the immune system.

Under natural conditions, the human immunodeficiency virus can be of anthropogenic origin, namely:

HIV is a typical exogenous retrovirus that has existed in humans since ancient times and evolved together with humans when they settled on Earth;

in the remote corners of Central Africa, HIV circulated and caused endemic AIDS diseases for a long time, then through Fr. Haiti came to the United States and subsequently quickly spread to all continents;

HIV is not of African origin, but arose even before the current pandemic, existed in temperate countries (North America, Europe), due to its weak pathogenicity, causing certain diseases that are practically not diagnosed as AIDS

in the early 50s of our century, the construction of HIV occurred during genetic recombinations (apparently accidental) of the human and animal leukemia virus (type C retrovirus) with the mouse mammary tumor virus (type B retrovirus) or with the simian AIDS virus (type D retrovirus) ;

in ancient times, mutants of the green monkey immunodeficiency virus transformed and acquired a new host - a human;

in terms of genome structure and biological properties, HIV is close to visna lentivirus and equine infectious anemia virus; there is a pronounced commonality of their internal (core) proteins.

A number of authors argue that the gap in structure and properties between monkey and human immunodeficiency viruses is already partially filled by similar viruses HTLV-4, HIV-2, as well as the recently discovered SBL virus by a Swedish scientist, and this process will continue.

However, the problem of AIDS today seems to be so non-trivial and multifaceted that the traditional epidemiological approach to this disease as a common anthropozoonotic infection can hardly be exhaustive in interpreting the genesis of HIV. To clarify this, it should be noted that in the evolutionary aspect, retroviruses (primarily oncogenic) are often and absolutely justifiably considered in inextricable connection with the mobile cellular elements of the eukaryotic genome. Noteworthy is the fact of the amazing structural similarity between proviral nucleotide sequences and the moving elements of eukaryotic genomes.

First of all, attention is drawn to the fact that both pro-retroviruses and mobile genetic elements are limited on both sides by regulatory sequences - long terminal repeats (LTR).

Moreover, the LTRs of pro-retroviruses and mobile genetic elements are themselves characterized by similar molecular organization. All of the listed LTR polynucleotide sequences are terminated with inverted terminal repeats. The appearance of short terminal repeats at the edges of pro-retroviruses and moving elements of the eukaryotic genome is associated with the duplication of adjacent DNA regions, that is, it indicates the general mechanism of their integration with the cellular genome. One of the general characteristics of the process of integration into the genome of mobile elements (retroposons) and retroviruses is the use of reverse transcription.

Their direct transcription is carried out in a similar way: both proviruses and mobile genetic elements are transcribed as full-length RNA from the beginning of one LTR to the end of another. Both types of generated transcripts are almost the same length.

The above and some other signs of the structural and functional similarity of retroviruses and mobile genetic elements gave grounds to Kh. Temin to put forward a hypothesis about the origin of retroviruses from mobile cellular elements of the eukaryotic genome. According to Temin, the evolution of retroviruses began with the fact that two small mobile elements, having moved to the edges of the DNA polymerase gene, later migrated as a single transposon together with the named gene, and the latter was gradually transformed into the gene of RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase ), and the flanking sequences became LTR. Subsequently, such a newly formed mobile element in the process of transposition could capture and include other structural genes characteristic of retroviruses (gag, env).

One of the convincing modern confirmations of Temin can be the data indicating a high degree of structural and functional closeness of retroviruses and the mobile element of the yeast genome Tu. The Tu retrotransposon has long terminal repeats and two structural genes: Tu A and Tu B. In this case, the Tu A gene is an analogue of the gag gene of retroviruses, which encodes the synthesis of virion core proteins, and Tu B is an analogue of the pol gene, which controls the synthesis of reverse transcriptase and protease.

If we recognize as legitimate the hypothesis arising from the stated above about the origin of HIV from the retrotransposons of human lymphoid cells, then the next logical step would be to resolve the issue of the mechanisms of activation of certain retrotransposons and their acquisition of autonomy with subsequent functioning in the form of HIV.

It should be noted that the idea of \u200b\u200bthe relationship between immunodeficiency states in general and genome instability has already become widespread in clinical observations and experimental studies. However, as a characteristic of genome instability, in most of the studies analyzed, only the level of chromosomal aberrations is considered, which is an indicator of gross violations of the chromatin structure. The specific molecular mechanisms of genome labilization are not covered in the studies mentioned.

One of these fundamental mechanisms can be considered nonspecific reactions of cellular stress, accompanied by the synthesis of heat shock proteins. It has been convincingly shown that heat shock and some chemical inducers of cellular stress, leading to the emergency synthesis of stress proteins, sharply activate the expression of long terminal HIV repeats in cell culture. Moreover, the LTR zone of HIV, which binds proteins that recognize DNA, is homologous to the corresponding zone in the genes for the synthesis of heat shock proteins. This indicates a clear relationship between the expression of genetic elements of the retrovirus (retrotransposon?) And cellular stress. If such phenomena take place in vivo, this would make it possible to get closer to understanding not only the intracellular processes themselves, but also the nature of specific biochemical mediators (such as heat shock proteins) that contribute to an increase in genome lability.

Among the factors that induce cellular stress, a special role belongs to ultraviolet radiation. An intensive production of mRNA hybridizing with the DNA of the gene for the heat shock protein hsp 70 under the influence of ultraviolet radiation in vivo has been demonstrated.

Consequently, UV, inducing the synthesis of heat shock proteins in irradiated cells, should thereby enhance the expression of elements of the HIV genome. Indeed, the experiments established the fact of a more than 150-fold increase in the expression of HIV-specific LTRs integrated into the genome of HeLa cells after irradiation with UV. Moreover, the degree of its intensification turned out to be proportional to the radiation dose.

When analyzing the research results, the question constantly arose about the specific mechanisms of action of UV radiation as a factor of genomic stress leading to the activation of HIV LTR expression. Special attention was drawn to the hypothesis of participation in the named process of UV endonuclease, an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of single-strand breaks in DNA under the influence of UV radiation and initiates its repair.

After a series of experiments to confirm this hypothesis, it was concluded that blood lymphocytes of patients with HIV infection are characterized by increased genome lability, the degree of which increases with the development of the disease. Free radical oxidation is one of the key pathobiochemical mechanisms of lymphocyte genome destabilization under these conditions. The attack of DNA by lymphocytes by free radicals causes the formation of single-strand breaks, which simultaneously serves as an initiating signal for the repair of these damages.

UV endonuclease, activated under the influence of the UV mimetic action of reactive oxygen species, initiates repair processes that, due to their excessive intensity, lead to the formation of oligonucleotide sequences of much greater length than is necessary for the repair of DNA breaks. It is possible that the resulting sequences can serve either as factors regulating the production and expression of retrotransposons (depending on the sites of their insertion into the repair DNA), or even as their structural elements. This assumption is indirectly supported by the results of the study, according to which heat shock and oxidative stress significantly enhance the transcription of retrotransposons in Drosophila.

Subsequent autonomization of retrotransposons in lymphoid cells (including in the process of passaging the genetic material of lymphocytes through the recipient's body) through appropriate rearrangements and splicing, according to the hypothesis presented, leads to a gradual transformation of retrotransposons into HIV.

Undoubtedly, the significance of the fact of significant labilization of the lymphocyte genome under conditions of HIV infection can be interpreted ambiguously. It can be assumed that the destabilized genome of the lymphoid cell is much more susceptible to the integration of HIV DNA transcripts into it and, thus, such lymphocytes are only a “fertile ground” for the spread of HIV infection. However, there are a number of results that may support the hypothesis proposed above.

When examining seven patients in whose cells there was no HIV genetic material (according to the study by the DNA probe method), and there were no antibodies to HIV proteins in the serum, it was found that after transfusion of donor blood (which did not have any HIV markers) and the subsequent reinfusion procedure autoblood irradiated with ultraviolet light, antibodies to HIV p17 and p24 proteins appear in the serum of these patients within 1 to 3 months. The results of the detection of proviral sequences using DNA probes in the lymphocytes of the examined are currently assessed as uncertain.

Of course, these data are still difficult to interpret as unambiguous, but on the whole they can be a confirmation of the position: the problem of AIDS, both in fundamental and applied aspects, cannot be solved within the framework of traditional approaches to the pathology under consideration as a trivial viral infection.

Obviously, many of the available information and hypotheses about the nature of the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in humans require clarification, additional research and comprehensive analysis.