Hindering HIV

By Jef Akst Hindering HIV Courtesy of Devon Gregory and Marc Johnson The paper: S.J.D. Neil et al., “Tetherin inhibits retrovirus release and is antagonized by HIV-1 Vpu,” Nature 451:425–30, 2008. (Cited in 96 papers) The finding: To be released from some cells, HIV-1 requires an accessory protein called Vpu, suggesting that these cells carry a host factor that inhibits the release of virions

Written byJef Akst

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The paper:

S.J.D. Neil et al., “Tetherin inhibits retrovirus release and is antagonized by HIV-1 Vpu,” Nature 451:425–30, 2008. (Cited in 96 papers)

The finding:

To be released from some cells, HIV-1 requires an accessory protein called Vpu, suggesting that these cells carry a host factor that inhibits the release of virions. To identify this mysterious antiviral molecule, virologist Paul Bieniasz of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at The Rockefeller University and his colleagues compared mRNA expression between cells in which HIV-1 needs Vpu and cells in which HIV-1 could be released without Vpu, to find the genes associated with the Vpu requirement. They found CD317.

The mechanism:

Bieniasz and his team nicknamed CD317 “tetherin” because of its suspected mode of action: forming a physical tether between the budding virus particle and the infected cell, which “prevents virions from infecting [distant] cells,” Bieniasz says. Last October, he showed that ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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