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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Oct 8.
Published in final edited form as: Mol Membr Biol. 2008 Jan;25(1):83–94. doi: 10.1080/09687680701613713

Figure 6. CD4 clustering in B16 cells and susceptibility to HIV-1 fusion.

Figure 6

HIV-1 delivers its genetic material into the cell by direct fusion of the viral membrane with the plasma membrane of the host cells mediated by trimeric gp120/gp41 molecules (blue). Interactions between gp120 and a cluster of CD4 molecules (yellow) result in conformational changes in gp120/gp41 (red). In B16 cells the WT-CD4 cluster does not readily disperse (left). However, the cluster of mutant (RA5) CD4 molecules readily disperses allowing the intermingling between those CD4 and CCR5/CXCR4 molecules (green) and enabling interactions gp120 with co-receptors. A further barrage of conformational changes then leads to membrane fusion.