Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics and the University of Heidelberg have discovered how Hi viruses enter the nucleus of a human cell. The conical protein capsules in which the genetic material of the pathogens is packed accumulate at nuclear pores in human immune cells such as macrophages and pass through them. The conical shape of the capsid seems to facilitate transport through the pores, because the passage of the capsules generates a force that breaks open the rings of the nuclear pores. The discovery could contribute to the development of new HIV inhibitors.
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