title: Distribution and fate of HIV-1 unintegrated DNA species: a comprehensive update.
abstract: Reverse transcription of viral RNA and the subsequent integration of reverse transcripts are the classical early events of the HIV-1 life-cycle. Simultaneously, abundant unintegrated DNAs (uDNAs), are formed in cells ubiquitously. The uDNAs either undergo recombination or degradation or persist inactively for long periods in the nucleus as future resources. Among them, 2-LTR circles are considered a dead-end for viral spread. Their contribution to the HIV-1 infection is still poorly understood. Nevertheless, the preintegration transcription of the aberrant DNAs and the consequent alterations of cellular factors have already been reported. Since the major fate of the viral genome is to persist as episomal DNA, precise characterization is required for studying the biology of HIV-1. This review compiles the biochemical and genetic updates on uDNA in the HIV-1 life cycle and could provide direction to further study of their roles in HIV-1 replication and application in HIV-1 pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biotechnology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Kyunggido, 456-756, South Korea.
authors.forename: Faysal Bin
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Hamid
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biotechnology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Kyunggido, 456-756, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jinsun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biotechnology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Kyunggido, 456-756, South Korea. chagshin@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cha-Gyun
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D004261:DNA Replication; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000821:virology; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D016679:Genome, Viral; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016662:Virus Integration; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: 2-LTR; HIV-1; Nuclear import; Retrovirus; Unintegrated DNA