4th Conf Retro and Opportun Infect. 1997 Jan 22-26;:223 (abstract no.
Specific interactions between viral proteins and intracellular
trafficking pathways are keys to HIV replication. The nuclear transport
of the uncoated HIV-1 nucleoprotein complex is thus governed by the
recognition of matrix (MA), Vpr and integrase IN) by the cell nuclear
import machinery. This confers HIV-1 with the ability to infect
nondividing cells, a property which can be exploited for the design of
retroviral vectors allowing for the in vivo delivery, integration, and
sustained long-term expression of transgenes into non mitotic cells such
as neurons, myocytes, hepatocytes and pancreatic islet cells. After
integration, the virus-induced down-regulation of CD4 and MHC1 is
mediated by another type of interaction between HIV-1 and intracellular
sorting pathways, this type involving the Nef protein and the endocytic
apparatus. Our latest results on these phenomena will be presented.
*HIV-1/PHYSIOLOGY *Viral Proteins/METABOLISM