Unchain my heart, baby let me go - The entry and intracellular transport of HIV

Abstract

In this issue, McDonald et al. describe the itinerary of the incoming human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)* during its travels to the host nucleus. They show that subviral particles tagged with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) are propelled along microtubules (MTs) by minus-end-directed and presumably plus-end-directed MT motors. The tracked particles correspond to functional units, since they no longer include a viral envelope, but do include viral matrix protein, Vpr, capsid protein, and reverse transcription activity.