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Updated: May 28, 2026

Determining 3'-Termini and Sequences of Nascent Single-Stranded Viral DNA Molecules during HIV-1 Reverse Transcription in Infected Cells
Published on: January 30, 2019
Initiation of HIV Reverse Transcription
Catherine Isel1, Chantal Ehresmann1, Roland Marquet1
1Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IBMC, 15 Rue René Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg cedex, France.
Abstract:
Reverse transcription of retroviral genomes into double stranded DNA is a key event for viral replication. The very first stage of HIV reverse transcription, the initiation step, involves viral and cellular partners that are selectively packaged into the viral particle, leading to an RNA/protein complex with very specific structural and functional features, some of which being, in the case of HIV-1, linked to particular isolates. Recent understanding of the tight spatio-temporal regulation of reverse transcription and its importance for viral infectivity further points toward reverse transcription and potentially its initiation step as an important drug target.
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