Classic Technique Reveals HIV in Action
REVELATION: The glycoprotein gp120 binds to the CD4 receptor on the T cell, causing the viral molecule to contort in a way that enables it to bind to the nearby chemokine receptor, too. This dual binding of HIV to two co-receptors triggers fusion of the viral and T cell membranes. Infection begins. X-ray crystallography has played a pivotal role in life science research, from providing data crucial to deciphering the DNA double helix, to revealing the structure of HIV protease. Now, the techn
Jul 5, 1998
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"The virus uses a complicated set of mechanisms to target the cell and trigger a reaction to fuse the viral and cell membranes. The crystal structure doesn't completely reveal the mechanism of the conformational...
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