Background
HIV-1 uses cellular co-factors for virion formation and release, and is able to incorporate host cellular proteins in the viral particles, such as tetraspanins which serve as gateways for HIV-1 egress. Here, we investigated the implication of several tetraspanins on HIV-1 formation and release in chronically infected T-lymphoblastic cells, a model that permits the study of the late steps of HIV-1 replication in persistent infected cells.