RNA Viruses: RNA Roles in Pathogenesis, Coreplication and Viral Load

Poltronieri, Palmiro; Sun, Binlian; Mallardo, Massimo

Among human retroviruses, HIV-1 is a lentivirus with an RNA genome formed by two copies of a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA. The HIV-1 RNA genome is associated to the nucleocapsid protein (NC) and to viral enzymes, thus it is "protected" within the viral capsid mainly formed by the p24 protein. Upon entry into the target cell, the viral RNA genome is reverse transcribed into double-stranded DNA by a virally encoded reverse transcriptase that is transported along with the viral genome into the virus particle. The viral DNA is imported into the cell nucleus and integrated into the cellular DNA by a virally encoded integrase and host cofactors. Once integrated, the virus may become latent, or may be transcribed, producing new RNA genomes and viral proteins that are packaged and released from the infected cell as new virus particles that will infect other cells to begin the new replication cycle. Many aspects of the life cycle of retroviruses are intimately linked to the functions of cellular