Elasticity of the HIV-1 core facilitates nuclear entry and infection.

ABSTRACT: HIV-1 infection requires passage of the viral core through the nuclear pore of the cell, a process that depends on functions of the viral capsid. Recent studies have shown that HIV-1 cores enter the nucleus prior to capsid disassembly. Interactions of the viral capsid with the nuclear pore complex are necessary but not sufficient for nuclear entry, and the mechanism by which the viral core traverses the comparably sized nuclear pore is unknown. Here we show that the HIV-1 core is highly elastic and that this property is linked to nuclear entry and infectivity. Using atomic force microscopy-based approaches, we found that purified wild type cores rapidly returned to their normal conical morphology following a severe compression. Results from independently performed molecular dynamic simulat

SUBMITTER: Deshpande A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11419384 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature