HIV-1 Gag, Pol, Env, Tat, Rev, and Vpu proteins (Gag/Pol/Env/Tat/Rev/Vpu)

The HIV-1 Gag, Pol, Env, Tat, Rev, and Vpu proteins are essential products encoded by the HIV-1 genome, collectively performing key structural, enzymatic, transcriptional, regulatory, and accessory functions required for HIV replication and pathogenesis[5][2][4]. - Gag is the structural polyprotein essential for viral assembly, budding, and release, forming the matrix, capsid, and nucleocapsid[2][5]. - Pol encodes viral enzymes required for replication: reverse transcriptase, integrase, and protease[5]. - Env forms the viral envelope glycoproteins responsible for binding to and entering host cells via CD4 and co-receptors[5]. - Tat is a regulatory protein that greatly increases the efficiency of viral RNA transcription[5]. - Rev is another regulatory protein that facilitates the export of unspliced and singly-spliced viral RNAs from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, thus enabling expression of structural proteins[6][5]. - Vpu is an accessory membrane protein that enhances virion release, antagonizes host restriction factors (like tetherin/BST2), and promotes CD4 degradation[4][7][3]. These proteins are all critical to the HIV-1 life cycle and, as such, are frequent or current targets of antiretroviral drugs, although not all are directly targeted by current clinical therapies. The diversity of function among these proteins, as well as rapid viral evolution, presents significant challenges for therapeutic targeting[5][2][4].

Other names

Gag: group-specific antigenPol: polymeraseEnv: envelope proteinTat: trans-activator of transcriptionRev: regulator of virion expressionVpu: viral protein U

Inhibition of viral reverse transcription, protease activity, or integration (Pol inhibitors) Blocking viral entry/fusion (Env inhibitors; some experimental Gag inhibitors) Disruption of assembly, budding, or release (potential targets for Gag, Vpu)