Quantifying Impact of HIV Receptor Surface Density Reveals Differences in Fusion Dynamics of HIV Strains.

ABSTRACT: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Type-1 has been studied heavily for decades, yet one area that is still poorly understood is the virus' ability to cause cell-cell fusion. In HIV, the fusion process is mediated by viral surface glycoproteins that bind to CD4 cell receptors. This virus-mediated cell fusion creates multi-nucleated cells called syncytia that can affect infection dynamics. Syncytia formation is often studied using a cell-cell fusion assay, in which donor cells expressing the viral surface protein fuse with acceptor cells expressing the cell receptor. A mathematical model capable of reproducing the dynamics of the cell-cell fusion assay was recently developed and can be used to quantify changes in syncytia formation. In this study, we use this mathematical model to quantify t

SUBMITTER: Gerg A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12031222 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature