A Novel Entry/Uncoating Assay Reveals the Presence of at Least Two Species of Viral Capsids During Synchronized HIV-1 Infection

To better characterize the behavior of HIV-1 capsids we developed EURT, for Entry/Uncoating assay based on core-packaged RNA availability and Translation. EURT is an alternative to Blam-Vpr, but as reporter RNA translation relies on core opening, it can be used to study viral capsids behavior. Our study reveals the existence of two major capsid species, a dead end one in which the viral genome is readily exposed to the cytoplasm and a functional...