MICROBIOLOGY

AND
IMMUNOLOGY
OPT 416
HS246
DR MAIMUNAH MUSTAKIM
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
AT THE END OF THE LESSON, STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO
IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN/ DESCRIBE :
I. The structure of viruses, viroids and prions.
II. Viral replications and mechanism of infections.
III. Diseases caused by viruses, viroids and prions.
VIRUSES, VIROIDS, PRIONS
 VIRUSES, VIROIDS, PRIONS

¡ Non-living elements
¡ Called agents
¡ Not organisms

¡ Usually consist of only a few molecules found in living cells

 VIRUSES, VIROIDS, PRIONS

¡ Viruses contain protein coat surrounding nucleic acid

¡ Essentially protein bag of nucleic acid

¡ Viruses termed obligate intracellular parasites

¡ Must have host machinery to replicate
¡ Inactive outside of host

¡ All forms of life can be infected by viruses

¡ Viruses frequently kill host cells (lytic virus)
¡ Some live harmoniously with host (temperate virus)
Viroids are simpler and smaller than viruses
¡ Still require host cell for replication
◦ Consist of a small single-stranded RNA molecule
◦ Contain NO protein coat
– Allows them to be resistant to proteases
¡ Viroids properties include:
¡ Replicate autonomously in susceptible cells
¡ Single viroid capable of infecting a cell
¡ Viroid RNA is circular and resistant to nuclease digestion
¡ Prions
¡ Proteinaceous infectious agent
¡ Linked to a number of fatal human diseases
¡ All illnesses cause brain degeneration
¡Brain tissue develops sponge-like holes
¡Disease termed transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies
¡ Symptoms may not appear for years after
infection
¡ Prions are infectious proteins
¡ Contain NO NUCLEIC ACID
¡ Responsible for neurodegenerative diseases
¡ Animal disease
¡Scrapie in sheep
¡Mad cow disease in cattle (bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, BSE)
VIRUSES, VIROIDS, PRIONS
BASIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF VIRUSES

Ø Viruses : non – living entities,

infectious agent

Ø Structure : nucleic acid (DNA or

RNA) , protein coat - capsid.

Ø Replicate and multiply in living

cells – obligate intracellular
parasites

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 COMPONENTS OF VIRUSES
1. Nucleic acid core , either DNA or RNA : single-stranded,
double-stranded; linear, circular or segmented.
2. Surrounding protein – capsid – determine shape, attachment
to host cells; composed of protein subunits – capsomers –
useful in identification based on the number of proteins and
arrangement of capsomer.
3. Envelope virus : Lipid bilayer membrane, protein and
carbohydrates; naked (non-enveloped) virus consists only
nucleocapsid
4. Projections – spikes – glycoprotein – serve to attach virion to
receptor sites on susceptible host cell surfaces.
Ø Complete virus – Virion - non replicating form 11
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 VIRAL REPLICATION
1. Adsorption – the attachment of viruses to host cells.
2. Penetration – the entry of virions (genome) into host
cells
3. Synthesis – the synthesis of new nucleic acid
molecules, capsid proteins and other viral components
within host cells while using metabolic machinery of
those cells.
4. Maturation – the assembly of newly synthesized viral
components into complete virions.
5. Release – departure of new virions from host cells. The
host cells may or not killed (lysed).
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 VIRUS INTERACTION WITH HOST CELLS
(As seen in bacteriophage)

Ø Lytic phage : host cells lysed - virulent

Ø Temperate phage : integrate their DNA into the
genome of the host, replicate concurrently with the
host.
ü Infection called latent.
ü Bacterial cells carrying the phage genome –
lysogen.
ü Bacterial cells infected with virus – lysogenic
state.
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 INTERACTIONS OF ANIMAL / HUMAN VIRUSES WITH THEIR HOST
¡ Persistent infections
Example:
¡ Latent infections
Herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2
¡ Infection is followed by symptomless
(HSV1 and HSV2)
period, then reactivation
Varicella zooster virus – chicken
¡ Infectious particles not detected until pox , Shingles
reactivation
¡ Symptoms of reactivation and initial
disease is different
INTERACTIONS OF ANIMAL / HUMAN VIRUSES WITH THEIR HOST

¡ Chronic infections
¡ Infectious virus can be detected at all times
¡ Disease may be present or absent during extended times or
may develop late
¡ Best known example
¡ Hepatitis B
 INTERACTIONS OF ANIMAL / HUMAN VIRUSES WITH THEIR HOST

¡ Acute infections
¡ Usually short in duration
¡ Host may develop long-lasting
immunity
¡ Result in productive infections
¡ Produce large number of viruses
during replication
¡ Disease symptoms result from
tissue damage and infection of
new cells
DISEASES CAUSED BY VIRUSES,
VIROIDS AND PRIONS

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VIRAL DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
 INFLUENZA

¡ The last great remaining great plague (epidemic disease) from the past
¡ Caused by orthomyxoviruses
¡ RNA viruses with an envelope surface antigen hemagglutinin responsible for
their infectivity.
¡ Neuraminidase: helps virus penetrate mucus layer protecting the respiratory
epithelium.
¡ Influenza viruses have a tendency to undergo antigenic variations
(changeability), or mutation of viral antigens.
Swine Flu--the height of the great flu pandemic of 1918
The Influenza Virus—Tinin and Neuraminidase Spikes and Outer Core
Flu mist vaccine is inhaled, rather than injected
 SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)

¡ 2002: people in China began falling sick of a new respiratory disease

¡ 305 cases of “atypical pneumonia” caused by a coronavirus
¡ Symptoms: high fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, difficulty
breathing, and X-rays indicating pneumonia
¡ Virus spread by close contact with an infected person, usually by
exhaled or coughed aerosol droplets
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
 SARS-CoV-2

Ø The strain of coronavirus that causes

coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Ø Respiratory illness responsible for the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Ø Human-to-human transmission.
Ø Transmission occur via respiratory droplets (from
coughs and sneezes) and air-borne.
Ø Indirect contact via contaminated surfaces.
Ø Inactivated by soap, which destabilizes its lipid
bilayer.
Ø The incubation period for the novel coronavirus is
somewhere between 2 to 14 days after exposure.
Ø The average incubation period seems to be
around 5 days.
Ø SARS-COV-2 infection symptoms:
Fever, dry cough, tiredness, aches and pains,
sore throat, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, headache,
loss of taste or smell.
Ø Serious symptoms:
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, chest
pain or pressure, loss of speech or movement
ACE = Angiotensin converting enzyme 2
receptor
VIRAL DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EYES
 VIRAL SKIN DISEASES

¡ Rubella (German Measles): mild human viral diseases that

cause exanthema (skin rash)
¡ Congenital rubella syndrome: results from infection of a
developing embryo across the placenta
¡ Transmission: mainly by nasal secretions shortly before, and
for about a week following, the appearance of a rash
 MEASLES

¡ Febrile (fever) disease with a rash

¡ Caused by rubeola virus which invades lymphatic tissue and blood
¡ Koplik’s spots: white spots with central bluish specks appear on
upper lip and cheek mucosa
¡ Most common complications of measles are upper respiratory and
middle ear infections
Measles (rubeola)
 CHICKENPOX AND SHINGLES
¡ Varicella-zoster virus (VZV)
¡ A herpesvirus causes both diseases
¡ Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease that causes skin lesions in
children
¡ Shingles: A sporadic diseases (a disease that occurs infrequently and
irregularly) in older and immunocompromised individuals.
VARICELLA ZOSTER VIRUS (VSV) - CHICKEN POX

¡ One of the most common

rashes among children
¡ Incidence declined due to
vaccine
¡ Produces a latent infection
that becomes reactive after
recovery of initial illness
¡ Shingles
SHINGLES

¡ Caused by reactivation of dormant

virus
¡ Characterized by rash around
waist, shoulder, neck
Shingles
 HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS (HSV)
¡ Extremely widespread
disease
¡ Many manifestations
¡ Most common form begins in
mouth and throat
¡ Infection persists for life
¡ Virus transmissible with
saliva
¡ Disease usually insignificant
¡ Disease can be fatal in
immunodeficiency
Two major herpes simplex virus types exist.

Type 1: Type 1 herpes virus commonly affects the

face and is responsible for symptoms that include
“fever blisters” or cold sores.
Type 2: Type 2 herpes virus is the sexually
transmitted form of the virus. While this type mainly
causes symptoms on the genitals, it can also affect
the eyes (ocular herpes).
COLD SORES (HSV-1)

Ocular herpes

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VIRAL DISEASES OF THE ENTERIC
 VIRAL ENTERITIS

¡ Rotavirus infection is a major cause of viral enteritis among

infants and young children.
¡ Transmitted by the fecal-oral route, replicate in the intestine,
damage the intestinal epithelium, and cause a watery diarrhea
within 48 hours.
¡ A major cause of infant morbidity and mortality in developing
countries.
¡ Account for a third of childhood deaths in some countries.
Rotaviruses—seen here as large, yellow spheres in fecal suspension (650,000X)
 HEPATITIS

¡ An inflammation of the liver, usually is caused by viruses, but can also be

caused by an amoeba and various toxic chemicals
¡ Hepatitis A(infectious hepatitis): the most common viral hepatitis, a ssRNA
usually transmitted by fecal-oral route
¡ Hepatitis B (serum hepatitis): is a dsDNA virus usually transmitted via blood
or body fluids
¡ Hepatitis C: transmitted by blood and blood products (plasma, red blood
cells, white blood cells, and platelets).
HEPATITIS C
 VIROID-CAUSED DISEASES

¡ All identified viroids infect plants – caused

plants loss
¡Examples of diseases
¡Potato spindle tuber
¡Chrysanthemum stunt
¡Cadang-cadang – coconut trees
 Cadang-cadang

Potato spindle tuber Chrysanthemum stunt

 PRION-CAUSED DISEASES

¡ Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (human)

¡ Kuru (human)
¡ Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (cattle)
¡ Scrapie (sheep)
 PRION DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

¡ 1920: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) was first investigated

¡ Since then several degenerative diseases of the nervous system have
been identified
¡ Causative agent: proteinaceous infectious particles (prions)
¡ Diseases are referred to collectively as transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies because in damaging neurons they give brain tissue a
“spongy” appearance.
¡ Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) - sub acute spongiform encephalopathy or
neurocognitive disorder, is a fatal degenerative brain disorder. Early
symptoms include memory problems, behavioral changes, poor
coordination, and visual disturbances. Later symptoms include
dementia, involuntary movements, blindness, weakness, and coma.
 A prion-caused disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
A B

A section through the cerebral The brain of a patient with

cortex of a normal human brain CJD shows many holes
reveals a solid structure
¡ Kuru - caused by an infectious protein (prion) found in
contaminated human brain tissue. Kuru is found among
people from New Guinea who practiced a form of
cannibalism in which they ate the brains of dead people
as part of a funeral ritual. The symptoms of the disease
include muscle twitching and loss of coordination. Other
symptoms include difficulty walking, involuntary
movements, behavioral and mood changes, dementia,
and difficulty eating.
Kuru: Victims who have reached the point where they must be fed pre-chewed food.
Since cannibalistic rites have been stopped in New Guinea, the disease has
disappeared there
Scrapie: Sheep infected with scrapie will rub or scrape – sometimes until they
are bloodied – against fences, poles, or trees. This fatal disease has no cure
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: “mad cow disease” Carcasses of infected
cattle are burned rather than buried

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy