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Maturation of retroviruses
Owen Pornillos1, Barbie K Ganser-Pornillos1
1Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Current Opinion in Virology
|June 12, 2019
Summary
Retrovirus maturation involves Gag polyprotein cleavage, transforming immature particles into infectious forms with a fullerene capsid. Understanding these structural changes offers therapeutic targets for HIV-1.
Area of Science:
- Structural biology
- Virology
- Molecular biology
Background:
- Retrovirus maturation is critical for infectivity, involving structural changes driven by viral protease cleavage of Gag polyproteins.
- The immature virus particle undergoes significant architectural rearrangement to form a mature, infectious state.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in understanding the structures of immature and mature retroviral capsid lattices.
- To provide insights into the mechanisms of capsid transformation during maturation.
- To discuss viral genome encapsidation and identify future research directions.
Main Methods:
- Review of structural data on retroviral capsid lattices.
- Analysis of structural transformations during virus maturation.
- Discussion of viral RNA genome encapsidation mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Recent breakthroughs illuminate the structural boundary conditions of retroviral maturation.
- Novel insights into the mechanisms of capsid transformation have been revealed.
- Emerging understanding of viral genome encapsidation within the mature capsid.
Conclusions:
- Understanding retroviral capsid structures and maturation dynamics is key to developing antiviral strategies.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate genome encapsidation and remaining questions in viral maturation.
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