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.