Seminar: Owen Pornillos (University of Virginia)

Structural biology of HIV-1 morphogenesis

HIV-1 initially assembles as a non-infectious, immature virus particle that must
undergo maturation in order to become infectious. Assembly and maturation are
driven by so-called molecular switches, which are small polypeptide elements

that change in conformation to control both processes. Our group has had a long-
standing interest in these steps of HIV-1 morphogenesis, which are proven targets

for anti-viral therapeutics. I will discuss some recent published and unpublished
work that provide new insights on how a molecular switch – called the CA-SP1
boundary – controls both HIV-1 assembly and maturation. This work has important
implications on our understanding of these critical steps in HIV-1 replication, and
how small molecules called “maturation inhibitors” disrupt these processes.