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Structural biology

Images from the surface of HIV

Nature volume 441, pages 817–818 (2006)Cite this article

Human and monkey immunodeficiency viruses are studded with ‘spikes’ that enable them to infect cells. Structural studies reveal that these spikes are tripod-like assemblies that cluster on the virus surface.

Newly produced HIV particles are in limbo between life and death, their fate determined by whether protruding structures — ‘spikes’ — on their surface make contact with receptors on the surface of white blood cells, in particular a subset known as CD4+ T cells. If a productive contact is made, a molecular sequence is triggered that results in the genetic material of the virus being injected into the target cell. Soon after, the viral genome begins to dictate events in the cell, leading to the production of many more virus particles, and full-blown infection gets under way. But if there is no productive contact between the viral spikes and target cells, then the spikes seem to lose their function and the HIV particles effectively die. The viral spike is thus central to HIV infection, making it a prime target for potential HIV vaccines, with the idea that blocking the spike–receptor contact using antibodies will prevent infection. On page 847 of this issue, Zhu et al.1 report a low-resolution (at about 3 nm) structure of the spikes and their distribution on the virus surface. There are some real surprises.

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Figure 1: Envelope spikes on the surface of HIV and SIV.

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  1. Departments of Immunology and Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, 92037, California, USA

    Dennis R. Burton

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  1. Dennis R. Burton
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Burton, D. Images from the surface of HIV. Nature 441, 817–818 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/441817a

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