ASSEMBLY AND BUDDING

Names for a portion of the processes by which new HIV is formed in infected host cells. Viral core proteins, enzymes, and RNA gather just inside the cell's membrane, while the viral envelope proteins aggregate within the membrane. An immature viral particle is formed and then pinches off from the cell, acquiring an envelope and the cellular and HIV proteins from the cell membrane. The immature viral particle then undergoes processing by an HIV enzyme called protease to become an infectious virus. Protease inhibitor drugs disrupt this processing and prevent the budded virus from becoming infectious.