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Mechanistic aspects of HIV‐1 reverse transcription initiation
Author(s) -
Harrich David,
Hooker Bill
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
reviews in medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.06
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1654
pISSN - 1052-9276
DOI - 10.1002/rmv.339
Subject(s) - reverse transcriptase , rna , biology , transcription (linguistics) , genome , dna , p tefb , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , computational biology , virology , gene , gene expression , promoter , linguistics , philosophy
During reverse transcription, the positive‐strand HIV‐1 RNA genome is converted into a double‐stranded DNA copy which can be permanently integrated into the host cell genome. Recent analyses show that HIV‐1 reverse transcription is a highly regulated process. The initiation reaction can be distinguished from a subsequent elongation reaction carried out by a reverse transcription complex composed of (at least) heterodimeric reverse transcriptase, cellular tRNA lys3 and HIV‐1 genomic RNA sequences. In addition, viral factors including Tat, Nef, Vif, Vpr, IN and NCp7, cellular proteins, and TAR RNA and other RNA stem‐loop structures appear to influence this complex and contribute to the efficiency of the initiation reaction. As viral resistance to many antiretroviral compounds is a continuing problem, understanding the ways in which these factors influence the reverse transcription complex will likely lead to novel antiretroviral strategies. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.