HIV-1 Virological Synapse: Live Imaging of Transmission

Jerome Feldmann (1) , Olivier Schwartz (1)

1 Virus et Immunité

A relatively new aspect of HIV-1 biology is the ability of the virus to infect cells by direct cellular contacts across a specialized structure, the virological synapse. This process was recently described through live cell imaging. Together with the accumulated knowledge on cellular and molecular structures involved in cell-to-cell transmission of HIV-1, the visualization of the virological synapse in video-microscopy has brought exciting new hypotheses on its underlying mechanisms. This review will recapitulate current knowledge with a particular emphasis on the questions live microscopy has raised.

Keywords: HIV-1; virological synapse; live video-microscopy

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Bioengineering; Imaging; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Virology

Jerome Feldmann, Olivier Schwartz. HIV-1 Virological Synapse: Live Imaging of Transmission. Viruses, 2010, Special Issue "Transmission of Retroviruses across Virological Synapses", 2 (8), pp.1666 - 1680. ⟨10.3390/v2081666⟩. ⟨pasteur-01372500⟩