# Identifying determinants of HIV-1 responsible for the nanoscale distribution and dynamics of virus assembly

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF DENVER (COLORADO SEMINARY) · 2022 · $14,909

## Abstract

Project Summary
The detailed mechanisms of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) assembly
constitute a significant gap in our understanding of the infection cycle of this devastating
pathogen. Specifically, the mechanisms by which the essential Envelope (Env) glycoprotein and
structural Gag molecule efficiently coalesce to form an infectious HIV-1 particle are poorly
understood, due to our inability to quantitatively measure the spatiotemporal dynamics of
individual molecules at the nanoscale within infected host cells. This proposal aims to delineate
the underpinnings of HIV-1 assembly on a single molecule basis and in a native cellular context.
To accomplish these aims, we propose to utilize superresolution microscopy to visualize and
quantify the stages of virus assembly in order to determine the role of key peptide motifs found
in HIV-1 Env and Gag. Our preliminary data and analytics demonstrate our ability to
quantitatively map the biogenesis of HIV-1 and strongly suggest that this approach will provide
unequivocal insight in the mechanisms of particle assembly. These discoveries will provide new
quantitative models to guide approaches aimed at thwarting HIV-1 assembly.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10411571
- **Project number:** 3R01AI138625-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF DENVER (COLORADO SEMINARY)
- **Principal Investigator:** Schuyler van Engelenburg
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $14,909
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-05-10 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10411571

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10411571, Identifying determinants of HIV-1 responsible for the nanoscale distribution and dynamics of virus assembly (3R01AI138625-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10411571. Licensed CC0.

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