Envelope

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Synonym(s)
HIV Viral Envelope
The outer coat of HIV, made up of two layers of lipids (fatty molecules). HIV uses protein "spikes" embedded in its envelope to enter host cells.
Related Term(s)
Capsid
Enzyme
Glycoprotein (gp)
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)
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The HIV envelope is the outer portion of an HIV virion.

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