Elasticity of the HIV-1 Core Facilitates Nuclear Entry and Infection.

HIV-1 infection requires passage of the viral core through the nuclear pore of the cell, a process that depends on functions of the viral capsid . Recent studies have shown that HIV- 1 cores enter the nucleus prior to capsid disassembly . Interactions with the nuclear pore complex are necessary but not sufficient for nuclear entry, and the mechanism by which the viral core traverses the comparably sized nuclear pore is unknown.