HIV-1 uncoating and nuclear import unraveled by an IRIM team

In a work published in Nature Microbiology (IF=14.6), Nathalie Arhel and collaborators reveal how HIV-1 uncoating and nuclear import are coordinated by a nuclear pore transport protein, Transportin-1 (TRN-1).

www.nature.com/articles/s41564-019-0405-x
HIV-1, when it enters the cell, protects its genome within the viral capsid. This capsid must be disassembled so that the virus can release its genetic information into the cell nucleus and thus allow its replication. Transportin-1 acts on this step by promoting the disassembly of the HIV-1 capsid. It then promotes the transport of both viral capsid and viral genetic information into the nucleus of the cell.