Recent advance in the structural analysis of HIV-1 envelope protein

Human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1), a causative agent of AIDS, is affecting today more than 35 millions of people worldwide. The advance of anti-HIV chemotherapy has made AIDS a chronic non-fatal disease in resourceful countries. Long-awaited anti-HIV-1 vaccine is still not with us yet; however, great progress in structural analyses of the envelope protein of HIV-1 in recent years starts to shed light on rational intervention targeted at the envelope protein, as will be reviewed in this article.