Figure 1.

Schematic description of the HIV-1 life cycle highlighting the various blocks that can delay viral replication leading to prolonged hiding of the virus in the host cell during HAART. These include: (i) pre-integration blocks like the deoxycytidine deaminase APOBEC3G, the cytoplasmic body component TRIM5α (in Old World monkeys), incomplete reverse-transcription and defects in nuclear import; (ii) post-integration blocks such as integration into heterochromatin where transcription is repressed, ineffective RNAPII elongation in the absence of Tat or of key host factors, regulation of NF-kB by Murr-1; (iii) translational blocks induced by RNAi.