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World AIDS Day: December 1
11/27
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is composed of two strands of RNA, 15 types of viral proteins, and a few proteins from the last host cell it infected, all surrounded by a lipid bilayer membrane. Together, these molecules allow the virus to infect cells of the immune system and force them to build new copies of the virus. Each molecule in the virus plays a role in this process, from the first steps of viral attachment to the final process of budding.
World AIDS Day, observed each year on December 1, raises awareness of
the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. The theme for
2012 is Working Together for an AIDS-Free Generation.
To learn more, visit www.worldaidsday.org and aids.gov.
Structural biologists have been actively studying HIV-related proteins and drugs. Since 1987, the NIH has sponsored annual meetings to discuss the progress made in this field. In 2011, a poster (and related animation) was created to commemorate the NIGMS's 25th Annual Meeting of the Groups Studying the Structures of AIDS-Related Systems and Their Application to Targeted Drug Design. The poster, available for download from PDB-101, highlights the examples of the structural proteins, viral enzymes, and accessory proteins of HIV that are available in the PDB archive.
HIV protease is one of the most frequently-deposited proteins, with almost 500 entries currently in the archive. Around half of these entries are bound to a drug or inhibitor.
Other related RCSB PDB resources include Molecule of the Month features on HIV protease, integrase, and reverse transcriptase.
