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Science 14 March 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5613, pp. 1670 - 1671
DOI: 10.1126/science.1083218
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Perspectives

VIROLOGY:
Forced Entry--or Does HTLV-I Have the Key?

David Derse and Gisela Heidecker

How do retroviruses pass from an infected host cell to a new uninfected target cell? In a Perspective, Derse and Heidecker suggest an answer. According to new work, a virological synapse-analogous to the immunological synapse between immune cells-forms between T cells infected with HTLV-1 and uninfected T cells (Igakura et al.). Viral particles accumulate within the tight intercellular space of the virological synapse, which facilitates their passage into uninfected T cells.

The authors are at the Basic Research Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA. E-mail: derse{at}ncifcrf.gov

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)