Capturing the Initial Autocatalytic Maturation Mechanism of HIV-1 protease at Atomic Resolution

Abstract

The first and critical step of HIV virion maturation is the autocatalysis of a pseudo-folded partially dimerized viral protease, each monomer embedded in a Gag-Pol polyprotein precursor. Although the first stage of autocatalysis is thought to be protease N-terminal intra-molecular cleavage, a basic structural understanding of this process remains elusive.