Structural characterization of the HIV-2 capsid lattice

The project aims to test the overarching hypothesis that differences in human retroviral capsid (CA) protein structure and CA-CA interactions can provide new insights into particle assembly and help identify conserved features that may be promising antiretroviral targets. Three lines of investigation are pursued: 1) investigating the differential CA interfaces among HIV-2 to examine whether differences in Gag lattice morphologies can be attributed to differences in CA interfaces; 2) determining a comparative analysis between the HIV-1 and HIV-2 capsid core structure to assess whether a novel helix in the HIV-2 mature CA is present and responsible for morphogenesis of the mature CA lattice; and 3) investigating the molecular and structural basis for differences in HIV particle assembly and viral infectivity using site-directed mutagenesis studies.