Integrase Label (Ah! Sorry I’m late!)

Protein: Integrase
Protein Data Bank ID #: 1K6Y.
Artist: Erica Puopolo

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a large impact on our world in the past thirty years, it is estimated that there are upwards of 35 million people living with HIV/AIDS and over 25 million have died AIDS related deaths. When the virus enters the body it attaches to the CD4 receptor of the helper T-cell. In my model, the globe is represents a T-cell that has already been infected by the virus, it is covered in pictures of people, showing that HIV has left no gender, age, or ethnicity untouched. This was also meant to put faces to the pandemic, when a disease is as widespread as HIV/AIDS it becomes easy to see it’s inflicted as mere statistics, but I think it is important to remember that every person infected is a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, a daughter, a son, or a friend to someone.  The syringe represents the CD4 receptor which HIV has used to enter the cell, the syringe is also symbolic of the large role that IV drug has played in the spread of the virus. Red and black viral DNA is being combined with the blue and yellow host DNA by integrase, which seals the fate of the cell. It is now a viral DNA lead workshop, and will begin replicating and releasing more viruses that will degrade the very immune system that is trying to fight against it.

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