Rab7A is required for efficient production of infectious HIV-1

by Caillet, M., Javier, K., Pelchen-Matthews, A., Delcroix-Genete, D., Camus, G., Marsh, M., and Berlioz-Torrent, C.

doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1002347

http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat...

The GTPase Rab7A is required for efficient production of infectious HIV-1. When HeLa cells are depleted of Rab7A, HIV-propagation is impaired and large aggregates of viral proteins accumulate at the surface of infected cells (arrows, p17 in green and Env in red overlap as yellow aggregates). EM immunolabelling shows that these are clusters of mature HIV particles (p17-5 nm gold, Env-10 nm), suggesting that the restriction factor BST-2/Tethering inhibits virus release. This study demonstrates that Rab7A, a major regulator of the late endocytic pathway, is involved in the turnover and virus-induced degradation of Tetherin and highlights the function of the endocytic pathway in the late stages of the HIV-1 replication cycle. See also Janvier et al. (2011)

http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat...

doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1001265