Blocking HIV-1 Vif Restores a Natural Mechanism of Intracellular Antiviral Defense

Title: Blocking HIV-1 Vif Restores a Natural Mechanism of Intracellular Antiviral Defense

Volume: 4 Issue: 4

Author(s): Chiara Bovolenta

Affiliation:

Keywords: vif, f12-vif, apobec3g, apobec3f, hiv-1, anti-viral therapy, non-immune defense

Abstract: AIDS has become the greatest pandemic in the human history counting approximately 40 millions people worldwide. To purge HIV-1 infection, new therapeutic approaches need to be searched in alternative and / or in addition to the current pharmacological ones. Recently, several independent laboratories have unveiled a nonimmune intracellular anti-HIV-1 defense strategy based on the cytidine deaminase APOBEC3G, which restricts HIV- 1 production by directly mutating the proviral DNA in infected cells. To counteract this defense pathway, HIV-1 has developed an evasion strategy by acquiring the accessory protein Vif, which blocks the action of APOBEC3G by inducing its proteasome-mediated degradation.

Cite this article as:

Bovolenta Chiara, Blocking HIV-1 Vif Restores a Natural Mechanism of Intracellular Antiviral Defense, Current Drug Targets - Immune, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders 2004; 4 (4) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568005310404040257