Description | Viral protein involved in the evasion of host immune defense by inhibiting the BST2/tetherin protein. BST2/tetherin is an alpha interferon-inducible cellular factor that impairs the release of many enveloped viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV- 1), HIV-2, as well as other retroviruses. Several viruses manage to circumvent the antiviral activity of BST2/tetherin either by sending BST2/tetherin to degradation (HIV-1) or by lowering the presence of BST2 on cell surfaces (HIV-2) |