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Overview of HIV entry. To deliver the viral payload into cells, HIV Env, comprised of gp120 and gp41 subunits (1), first attaches to the host cell, binding CD4 (2). This causes conformational changes in Env, allowing coreceptor binding, which is mediated in part by the V3 loop of Env (3). This initiates the membrane fusion process as the fusion peptide of gp41 inserts into the target membrane, followed by six-helix bundle formation and complete membrane fusion (4).
