Equine Infectious Anemia Virus Cellular Partners Along the Viral Cycle

Abstract

Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is the simplest described lentivirus within the Retroviridae family, related to the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV-1 and HIV-2). There is an important interplay between host cells and viruses. Viruses need to hijack cellular proteins for their viral cycle completion and some cellular proteins are antiviral agents interfering with viral replication. HIV cellular partners have been extensively studied and described, with a special attention to host proteins able to inhibit specific steps of the viral cycle, called restriction factors. Viruses develop countermeasures against these restriction factors. Here, we aim to describe host cellular protein partners of EIAV viral replication, being proviral or antiviral. A comprehensive vision of the interactions between the virus and specific host’s proteins can help with the discovery of new targets for the design of therapeutics. Studies performed on HIV-1 can provide insights into the functioning of EIAV, as well as differences, as both types of virus research can benefit from each other.