Introduction
The retroviral nucleocapsid (NC) protein is central to many processes in the viral life cycle. It is involved in assembly processes as a domain of the Gag precursor - in the packaging of the viral genomic RNA, in the formation of the particle on the RNA scaffold, and in annealing of the primer tRNA to the PBS. As a mature protein, NC plays a crucial role in the infectious process as a co-factor in both reverse transcription and integration. It is also required for the incorporation of important cellular factors such as APOBEC3G. Many of the functions of NC rely on its nucleic acid “chaperone” activity, i.e., the ability to catalyze nucleic acid conformational rearrangements that lead to the most thermodynamically stable structure.
The fact that NC functions at multiple steps in the replication cycle makes it a unique target for antiviral compounds, while inactivation of virus particles by chemical attack on NC is a promising approach for killed-virus vaccine development. Thus topics on NC that will be covered at this symposium will include:
- NC structure and its relationship to function
- Role of NC in reverse transcription, recombination and integration
- Role of NC in Gag assembly
- Role of NC in viral RNA packaging and dimerization
- The relationship between NC and cellular proteins such as APOBEC3G
- Other cellular proteins associated with NC or with NC-like function
- Antivirals and NC vaccines
The purpose of this symposium is to create an opportunity for the exchange of new results and ideas concerning retroviral NC. The forum will stimulate discussions on new avenues for the study of this protein and exploitation of NC as a target for antiviral therapies.
Each session will include invited talks as well as talks selected from submitted abstracts. If you would like to be placed on our mailing list to receive additional information, please send your contact information and e-mail address to Carolina Tiepel at: 
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