Huarte…Nieva {Sci Rep 6: 34190}

Functional organization of the HIV lipid envelope. Functional organization of the HIV lipid envelope.
Model for the functional organization of the HIV membrane. Left: viral entry is facilitated by a highly-packed fluid state and low line tension (top), allowing separation of rigid nanodomains (bottom). Membrane fusion would be more efficient at the nanodomains boundaries. Right: fluidification of the more disordered phase increases line tension (top), promoting domain clustering (bottom) and reducing the separated-domain perimeter available for fusion. Lipid-packing decreasing compounds may induce the transition between both states, inhibiting viral entry. AFM images show untreated (left) and AAPH-treated viral lipid mixtures (right).