Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Amplification, Next-generation Sequencing, and Genomic DNA Mapping of Retroviral Integration Sites
Published on: March 22, 2016
The Mechanism of Budding of Retroviruses From Cell Membranes
Andrew Pincetic1, Jonathan Leis
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611.
Abstract:
Retroviruses have evolved a mechanism for the release of particles from the cell membrane that appropriates cellular protein complexes, referred to as ESCRT-I, -II, -III, normally involved in the biogenesis of multivesicular bodies. Three different classes of late assembly (L) domains encoded in Gag, with core sequences of PPXY, PTAP, and YPXL, recruit different components of the ESCRT machinery to form a budding complex for virus release. Here, we highlight recent progress in identifying the role of different ESCRT complexes in facilitating budding, ubiquitination, and membrane targeting of avian sarcoma and leukosis virus (ASLV) and human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1). These findings show that retroviruses adopt parallel budding pathways by recruiting different host factors from common cellular machinery for particle release.
Related Concept Videos
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Retroviruses
Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Intracellular Movement of Viruses and Bacteria

