Wild-type and central DNA flap defective HIV-1 lentiviral vector genomes: intracellular visualization at ultrastructural resolution levels.

ABSTRACT: HIV-1 and other lentiviruses have the unique ability among retroviruses to efficiently replicate in non-dividing cells as a result of the active nuclear import of their DNA genome across an interphasic nuclear membrane. Previous work has shown that a three-stranded DNA structure synthesized during HIV-1 reverse transcription, called the central DNA flap, acts as a cis-determinant of HIV-1 genome nuclear import. Concordantly, DNA Flap re-insertion in lentiviral-derived gene therapy vectors stimulates gene transfer efficiencies and complements the level of nuclear import to wild-type levels quantitatively indistinguishable from wild-type virus in all cell types and tissues examined so far. In order to define the precise nature of the replicative defect of DNA flap mutant viruses, we carried

SUBMITTER: Arhel NJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1538615 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature