This sequence depicts viral RNA transforming itself into
double-stranded DNA, then integrating into the host cell's DNA
in order to produce new viral RNA.
Once inside the host cell, the viral RNA migrates toward the
nucleus through the cell's cytoplasm and eventually through
the nuclear membrane. A series of steps that ultimately ends
in a new HIV particle follows. First, through a process known
as reverse transcription, the enzyme known as reverse
transcriptase catalyzes the formation of double-stranded viral
DNA using the single-stranded viral RNA as a template.
Employing other enzymes such as integrase (shown by the
starburst in step 4 and in the graphic at right above), the
new viral DNA then breaks open the host cell's DNA and
integrates itself into it. This leads to the formation of a
new viral RNA strand, which migrates out of the host's DNA.
The new viral RNA moves into the cytoplasm, where new viral
proteins are built using the viral RNA as a blueprint.