HIV life cycle

[the_Nothing]

Does anyone here have a good understanding of the life cycle of the HIV virus? I have a question that is pretty specific... I actually joined the forum to ask it, but the more I think about it the less I think I'll get a response... anyways, here goes.

 

My understanding is that when the HIV virion spills its contents into the host cell those contents consist of the following:

• RNA genome
• Reverse transcriptase
• Integrase
• Protease

The reverse transcriptase transcribes the RNA into DNA; the integrase splices the DNA into the host genome; when the host cell begins its reproductive phase it transcribes the HIV DNA into mRNA; the mRNA is translated into HIV precursor proteins; and then the HIV protease (that was first dumped into the cell) comes around and cleaves these precursor proteins into active proteins that construct the HIV virus and causes it to bud off the cell back into the blood stream.

 

My question is: How does the protease find the HIV precursors? Isn't there a period of time before the cell reproduces before HIV DNA is even transcribed? How does the protease persist in the intracellular environment? Does it somehow stick around the area where the HIV DNA is going to be transcribed? Otherwise how could it possibly be effective at such a low concentration?

 

I was trying to write a description of the HIV life cycle and I realized that I had no idea what was going on with the protease, and I think these questions are reasonable unless I'm missing something?

 

Just putting it out there, thanks to anyone who can provide some insight!