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. 2021 May 11;10(5):1171. doi: 10.3390/cells10051171

Figure 1.

Figure 1

IFITMs and their effects against HIV-1. (a) Schematic presentation of the genomic organization of the IFITM locus on human chromosome 11 and focus on IFITM1, 2 and 3 that are IFN-regulated and studied in the context of viral infection. Typical confocal microscopy pictures presenting distribution differences between IFITM1, 2 and 3 (as published in [10]). Possible topological conformation of IFITMs on the membrane bilayer. (b) Schematic representation of the two mechanisms of HIV-1 interference by IFITMs on target cell protection (left) and negative imprinting of virion particles infectivity (right). In both cases, IFITMs interfere with the fusion between viral and cellular membranes impairing infection (bottom). Given that its relationship with membrane fusion inhibition as well as its possible conservation for other viruses remain unclear, the third mechanism of HIV-1 interference by IFITMs, namely protein translation inhibition, is not reported in the figure. Figures in section b were adapted from “Membrane Endocytocis” and “Hemifusion” templates by BioRender.com (2021), accessed on the 11th of May 2021).