- Multiple components of the nuclear pore complex and nuclear import machinery enable a protein called human myxovirus resistance 2 (MX2) to inhibit HIV-1 infection, according to a study published November 29 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Michael Malim of King’s College London, and colleagues.
- In eukaryotic cells, a membrane barri
er called the nuclear envelope separates the nucleus from the cytoplasm. - The movement of large molecules through the nuclear envelope and into the cell nucleus is regulated by large protein structures called nuclear pore complexes.
- To infect cells productively, HIV-1 must traverse the nuclear envelope to enable integration of the viral DNA into the genomic DNA of host cells.
- MX2, which is localized at the cytoplasmic face of the nuclear envelope, inhibits infection by blocking the nuclear import of HIV-1 DNA and preventing its accumulation within the nucleus. However, the precise mechanism of viral inhibition has not been clear.
- new study, show that MX2 interacts with multiple protein components of the nuclear pore complex.
- According to the authors, these new insights could lead to the development of more effective. therapies for HIV-infected patients.
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