Fig. 7.

Model for nuclear import and HIV-1 uncoating. Intact viral cores are released in cytoplasm upon fusion and transported to the nuclear envelope. Reverse transcription is initiated in the cytoplasm. After docking to the nuclear pore complex, the viral cores recruit CPSF6, which facilitates their entry into the nucleus. Reverse transcription is completed inside the intact viral core. Loss of capsid integrity occurs ∼10 h after infection, followed ∼1 to 3 min later by rapid (<1 min) disassembly of the viral core. This results in the release of the preintegration complex (PIC) and the viral DNA integrates into the host chromatin near the site of uncoating to form a provirus.