Sandbox 645

HIV-1 Protease

spinqualitylabelsall models Structure of HIV-1 Protease (PDB entry 2r8n) Show:Asymmetric Unit Biological Assembly Drag the structure with the mouse to rotate   Export Animated Image   Print3D Introduction HIV -1 protease (HIV PR ) is a retroviral aspartyl protein that is derived from HIV-1, a lentivirus that is best characterized for its ability to lower host immunity by infecting CD4+ T lymphocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Unlike most members of aspartyl protease class, which generally exist as two domain monomers, HIV protease is a dimmer with two identical subunits that are comprised of 99 amino acids. The HIV PR, together with single stranded RNA (ssRNA), reverse transcriptase, integrase, and other viral factors, is found inside the HIV-1 virion. As an important viral protein, it plays a crucial role in successful viral propagation.