Tetherin Is as Tetherin Does

Abstract

Tetherin is a cellular restriction factor that inhibits the release of HIV and other enveloped viruses from host cells. A paper from Perez-Caballero et al. (2009) in this issue of Cell clarifies how this factor works. The authors show that the aptly named tetherin directly tethers viral particles to the plasma membrane. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.