HIV-1 Assembly and Release
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) particles are formed and released at the plasma membrane of the infected cell. Researchers analyzed the dynamics of HIV assembly and release making use of fluorescently labeled HIV structural proteins. They determined that assembly of the virus protein shell occurs within ~8–9 min after nucleation of an assembly site and virus particles are formed individually and not from large patches. Virion release was observed ~25 min after nucleation of the assembly site. Assembly of the Gag shell thus appears to constitute only a minor part of the period required for particle formation indicating that traversing the membrane and fission are the rate-limiting stages in virion formation. Using a photoconvertible label in the viral Gag protein, they established that the Gag molecules driving nucleation of a new assembly site and in bud growth are recruited preferentially from the cytosolic pool of Gag molecules and from recently membrane-attached Gag. No intracellular assembly or vesicular trafficking of Gag was observed. The described results add essential dynamic information to our picture of virus release and provide an experimental basis for interfering with this stage of virus replication.
Dynamics of HIV-1 Assembly and Release. PLoS Pathog 5(11): e1000652 doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000652
Related:
- Studying the structure of HIV
- HIV spreading from cell to cell
- Cell-to-cell transmission of retroviruses
Tags: Biology, HIV/AIDS, Medicine, Microbiology, Microscopy, Science, Virology, virus
