GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Amplicon - the DNA product of a PCR reaction, usually an amplified segment of a gene or DNA

Antigen - a foreign substance (often a protein or carbohydrate) cabaple of inducing an immune reaction

Assay - a laboratory test

Base pair - the combination of two nucleotides on opposite strands of a DNA molecule that pair up due to the complimentary nature of their nucleotide sequences

Cmin - the lowest concentration of drug in the blood after a dose of that drug (that is, before the level begins to increase again as a result of administration of the next dose)

Codon - set of three nucleotides on the coding strand of a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) that specify a particular amino acid in a protein

DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid; the genetic material of cells and many viruses.

Enzyme - a protein that carries out chemical reactions

Epitope - the part of an antigen recognized by the immune system

Genotype - the particular sequence of nucleotides in the genes of an organism

Hybridization - the binding of two nucleic acid molecules to each other through base pairing

Inhibitory quotient - Cmin/IC50; the ratio of the Cmin of a drug to the amount of that drug required to inhibit the patient's virus

MHC - major histocompatibility complex; molecules expressed on the surface of cells that identify the cell as being "self" vs "foreign". MHC molecules also bind foreign antigens and present them to the immune system. Also known as HLA (human leukocyte antigen) molecules.

Mutation - change in the naturally occurring sequence of a gene

Nucleotide - the basic unit of a gene

Oligonucleotide - a short sequence of nucleotides joined together

PBMC - peripheral blood mononuclear cells; includes lymphocytes and monocytes found in the blood

PCR - polymerase chain reaction; a process for amplifying specific DNA sequences in a test tube by repetitive cycles of DNA replication, usually conducted in a microprocessor-controlled automated machine

Pharmacokinetics - the properties of a drug with regard to absorption, distribution in the body, metabolism, and elimination

Phenotype - the characteristics of an organism (eg, blue eyes; zidovudine resistance)

Polymorphism - naturally occurring variation in the sequence of a gene

Proviral DNA - the DNA copy of a retrovirus (such as HIV) that is inserted into the chromosome of an infected cell after reverse transcription and integration

Reverse transcription - the process of making a double-stranded DNA copy of an RNA molecule, used by retroviruses to convert viral RNA into DNA that can integrate into the chromosome of the infected cell; carried out by the enzyme reverse transcriptase

RNA - ribonucleic acid; a variant of DNA that is used to carry genetic information from the nucleus of a cell to the cytoplasm, where it is translated into protein. Used by some viruses (such as HIV) as their primary genetic material

Seroconversion/seronconverter - the process of developing antibodies to a microorgranism after infection (eg, after primary infection with HIV)

Therapeutic drug level monitoring - checking levels of a drug in order to determine if too much or too little of the drug is being administered to achieve the desired effect

Trough - lowest concentration of a drug in the blood before the next dose is taken (often the same as Cmin, but because there can be a delay in drug absorption, sometimes the Cmin occurs a short time after the trough)