Integrating the HIV-1 assembly/maturation pathway

Abstract

In PNAS, Jurado et al. (1) describe an unexpected mechanism of action of a new class of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) integrase (IN) inhibitors. Several years ago it was discovered that the HIV-1 IN was targeted to sites in chromatin by the host protein lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF)/p75 (2). The site of interaction between IN and LEDGF/p75 was defined, and inhibitors to block that interaction were sought and identified. In PNAS, Jurado et al. (1) show that although these inhibitors (termed Allosteric IN inhibitors, or ALLINIs) have some potency to block steps involved in integration, their most dramatic effect is to cause the virus particle to assemble into a noninfectious structure.