Last Unknown Structure of HIV-1 Solved, Another Step in Efforts to Disarm the AIDS Virus
Published:27 Oct.2017 Source:Science Daily
Researchers have solved the last unknown protein structure of HIV-1, the retrovirus that can cause AIDS. This will further explain how the virus infects human cells and how progeny viruses are assembled and released from infected cells.
Knowledge of this structure, called the cytoplasmic tail of gp41 protein. The cytoplasmic tail appears to play a key role in virus assembly to help incorporate the envelope spike structures into the surface of viral particles. The structure of the cytoplasmic tail of gp41 was a tremendously difficult task to solve, says Saad, an associate professor of microbiology at UAB.