Abstract 1149 The Role of DnaJB4 Protein in HIV-1 Replication

HIV/AIDS continues to be a major global public health issue. Current antiretroviral therapy (ART), has dramatically decreased AIDS-related morbidity and mortality rates. However, HIV persistence in reservoirs and HIV drug resistance post formidable challenges to HIV treatment. A full understanding of how HIV-1 hijacks host factors and/or pathways to achieve its productive replication and efficient, therefore, underpins the development of new prevention and treatment strategies. In the absence of other viral protein, HIV-1 Gag protein alone is able to self-assemble and produce extracellular virus-like particles (VLPs), indicating the central role for Gag in directing particle assembly and release.