The ESCRT pathway in HIV Budding and Cell Division

Abstract

The Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport (ESCRT) pathway mediates intraluminal endosomal vesicle formation, budding of HIV-1 and other enveloped viruses, and the final abscission step of cytokinesis in mammals and archaea. I will review our current understanding of the roles of different EXCRT factors in HIV budding, and then discuss our recent findings that in addition to their roles in abscission, EXCRT factors are also required for several key steps in mitosis, including creation of the bipolar spindle and proper pairing and segregation of sister chromatids. Our studies indicate that the EXCRT pathway functions at both centrosomes and centromeres during mitosis, and then at midbodies during abscission, thereby helping to ensure ordered progression through the different stages of cell division.