Structural and functional studies in lentivirus RNA encapsidation

HIV packages its genetic material by recognising a distinctive knot-like fold in its own RNA, and researchers plan to map the molecular structures involved in this capture process to design a new class of antiviral drugs. Current HIV drugs suppress the virus but cannot eliminate it, and resistance has emerged to every existing treatment. This project targets a fundamental step in the virus’s assembly: how it selects its own RNA from the thousands of other RNA molecules inside an infected cell. If that selection can be blocked, the virus cannot produce infectious particles. The researchers will determine the three-dimensional shapes of the viral proteins and RNA segments that interact during packaging, and identify the precise cellular location where the capture occurs. This structural information can then be used to design molecules that jam the recognition mechanism. If successful, the work could yield a completely new type of anti-HIV drug, effective against strains resistant to current therapies. The same molecular understanding may also improve gene therapy, where researchers need to package therapeutic genes into virus-like particles—knowing how the virus naturally selects its RNA could help them load the correct cargo instead.