Chapter 2 - Cellular Factors That Regulate Retrovirus Uncoating and Reverse Transcription

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the present state of knowledge of the early events of the retrovirus life cycle from the time of entry of the virion core into the cytoplasm to the delivery of the preintegration complex to the nucleus. The key steps in this process are described, including the uncoating of the core, the reverse transcription of the RNA genome, and the trafficking of the genome through the cytoplasm. The techniques that are used to monitor the various components of the virus, their nucleic acids and proteins, are discussed. The chapter then focuses on the major host factors known to affect these steps. These include both host factors that are exploited by the viruses to facilitate or promote infection, and the restriction factors that act to inhibit or block the course of infection. There follows a discussion of host machinery that acts to sense infection and activate the interferon responses. We end with comments on the future prospects for exploiting our knowledge of the host–viral interactions to inhibit virus replication.