HIV-1 integration: an interplay between HIV-1 integrase, cellular and viral proteins

To achieve a productive infection, the reverse transcribed cDNA of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has to be inserted in the host cell genome. The main protein required to accomplish this reaction is the virally encoded integrase. In vitro, the recombinant integrase is capable of catalyzing the two subsequent reactions of the integration process, namely the 3' processing followed by the strand transfer, without other viral and/or cellular proteins. However, a number of studies indicate that the in vivo integration process also involves cellular proteins, assisting the virus to integrate in the cellular genome. These cellular proteins can play a role during different steps of the integration process, including nuclear import, integrase catalysis, integration site selection and DNA gap repair. In this review we summarize the candidate cellular proteins involved in the HIV-1 integration process identified so far and discuss their potential roles during HIV-1 replication.