How HIV builds its shell and adds its envelope to infect cells
Structural Basis for HIV-1 Gag assembly and Env incorporation
This project looks at how HIV pieces come together so scientists can find new ways to stop the virus for people living with HIV.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Alabama at Birmingham NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Birmingham, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11161181 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you were involved, researchers may ask for blood or virus samples while they use powerful freezing microscopes (cryo-EM/cryo-ET) and biochemical tests to take detailed pictures of how HIV proteins Gag and Env fit together. The team will compare the structures present during virus assembly and after a maturation step to see how a small number of gp41 molecules become incorporated and activated. They will also use engineered virus-like particles and protein experiments to test how changes in the matrix (MA) domain affect Env incorporation. The goal is to reveal the exact steps and shapes that make the virus infectious.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People living with HIV who are willing to provide blood or tissue samples to support laboratory studies would be the most relevant contributors.
Not a fit: Patients seeking immediate new treatments are unlikely to get direct clinical benefit, since this is laboratory-based basic science rather than a treatment trial.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal weak points in HIV assembly that new drugs or vaccines could target to block infection.
How similar studies have performed: High-resolution structural imaging has already clarified many viral architectures, but mapping the specific Gag–gp41 interactions for HIV and their maturation-dependent changes remains a developing and partly novel effort.
Where this research is happening
Birmingham, United States
- University of Alabama at Birmingham — Birmingham, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dokland, Terje — University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Study coordinator: Dokland, Terje
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.