Priming of HIV replication by tRNA(Lys3): role of reverse transcriptase
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S Litvak1, L Sarih-Cottin, M Fournier
1Laboratoire de Réplication et Expression des Génomes Eucaryotes et Retroviraux, Institut de Biochimie Cellulaire du CNRS, Bordeaux, France.
Abstract:
The fundamental role played by reverse transcriptase in the replication of retroviruses has stimulated the study of the mechanism of action of this enzyme. The reverse transcriptase of the type 1 human immunodeficiency virus forms a stable complex with its cognate transfer RNA replication primer (tRNA(Lys3)). Here, we outline the role of this enzyme in the selection of its primer tRNA, the annealing of primer tRNA to the complementary region of the retroviral genome, and the first attempts to use the reverse-transcriptase-tRNA complex as a new target for antiviral agents.