HIV entry: a game of hide-and-fuse?

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Gregory Melikian, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2014-02-01
• Publisher: Elsevier: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coviro.2013.09.004
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Current Opinion in Virology
• ISSN: 1879-6257
• Volume: 4
• Start Page: 1
• End Page: 7
• Grant/Funding Information: The work on HIV entry in my laboratory has been supported by the NIGMS R01 GM054787 grant.
• Keywords: Science & Technology; FUSION; ACTIN; ENDOCYTIC PATHWAY; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; TYPE-1 HIV-1; Virology; TO-CELL TRANSMISSION; DENDRITIC CELLS; PRODUCTIVE ENTRY; HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS; MEMBRANE; VIROLOGICAL SYNAPSE
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Biology, Virology

Abstract

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) initiates infection by fusing its envelope membrane with the cell membrane through a process which is triggered through interactions with the cellular receptor and coreceptor. Although the mechanism of HIV fusion has been extensively studied, the point of its entry into cells remains controversial. HIV has long been thought to fuse directly with the cell plasma membrane. However, several lines of evidence suggest that endocytic entry of HIV can lead to infection and, moreover, that endocytosis could be the predominant HIV entry pathway into different cell types. This review discusses recent findings pertinent to HIV entry routes and novel approaches to pinpoint the sites of virus entry.