Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:09:27 BST CiteULike: kieran101 Glass http://www.citeulike.org/user/kieran101/author/Glass CiteULike.org en-gb Copyright © 2004-2008 citeulike.org http://www.citeulike.org/user/kieran101/article/2794914 <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 103, No. 8. (21 February 2006), pp. 2641-2646.</i><br /><br />The lipids of enveloped viruses play critical roles in viral morphogenesis and infectivity. They are derived from the host membranes from which virus budding occurs, but the precise lipid composition has not been determined for any virus. Employing mass spectrometry, this study provides a quantitative analysis of the lipid constituents of HIV and a comprehensive comparison with its host membranes. Both a substantial enrichment of the unusual sphingolipid dihydrosphingomyelin and a loss of viral infectivity upon inhibition of sphingolipid biosynthesis in host cells are reported, establishing a critical role for this lipid class in the HIV replication cycle. Intriguingly, the overall lipid composition of native HIV membranes resembles detergent-resistant membrane microdomains and is strikingly different from that of host cell membranes. With this composition, the HIV lipidome provides strong evidence for the existence of lipid rafts in living cells. 10.1073/pnas.0511136103 The HIV lipidome: A raft with an unusual composition Britta Brugger Barbel Glass Per Haberkant Iris Leibrecht Felix Wieland Hans-Georg Krausslich doi:10.1073/pnas.0511136103 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 103, No. 8. (21 February 2006), pp. 2641-2646. 2008-05-13T13:06:12-00:00 2006 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103 8 2641 2646 lipids