Figure 3.

The life cycle of the HIV-1 virus. The early-stage begins with the recognition of host cell receptors (1), resulting in the fusion of the virus and release of the viral core into the cytoplasm of the host cell (2). This is followed by the trafficking of the core through the cytoplasm (3) as reverse transcription and uncoating begins to take place (4). Once at the nuclear pore, the viral contents are imported into the nucleus and localized (5) to transcriptionally active chromatin while uncoating and reverse transcription are completed (6). Following uncoating and reverse transcription, integration occurs (7). After the viral genome is integrated into the host cell, viral genes are transcribed (8) and translated (9) into the Gag polyprotein. The Gag polyprotein then localizes to the host cell membrane (10), where budding occurs (11), followed by the release of an immature virion (12). The final step in the HIV-1 lifecycle is maturation (13), where the viral protease cleaves the Gag polyprotein into its constituent, functional proteins. Image created with BioRender.com.