Unlocking HIV’s Stealth Entry: Study Reveals How It Breaches the Nucleus

Chemists from the University of Chicago have successfully assembled a massive model of the nuclear pore complex and the HIV-1 virus capsid.
Because viruses have to hijack someone else’s cell to replicate, they’ve gotten very good at it—inventing all sorts of tricks.

A new study from two University of Chicago scientists has revealed how HIV squirms its way into the nucleus as it invades a cell.

According to their models, the HIV capsid, which is cone-shaped, points its smaller end into the pores of the nucleus and then ratchets itself in. Once the pore is open enough, the capsid is elastic enough to squeeze through. Importantly, the scientists said, both the structural flexibility of the capsid and the pore itself play a role in the infiltration process.