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Reverse transcription of the HIV-1 pandemic

Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

²Correspondence: Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, SHM B350B, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06520-8066, USA. E-mail: karen.anderson{at}yale.edu

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has existed for >25 years. Extensive work globally has provided avenues to combat viral infection, but the disease continues to rage on in the human population and infected 4 million people in 2006 alone. In this review, we provide a brief history of HIV/AIDS, followed by analysis of one therapeutic target of HIV-1: its reverse transcriptase (RT). We discuss the biochemical characterization of RT in order to place emphasis on possible avenues of inhibition, which now includes both nucleoside and non-nucleoside modalities. Therapies against RT remain a cornerstone of anti-HIV treatment, but the virus eventually resists inhibition through the selection of drug-resistant RT mutations. Current inhibitors and associated resistance are discussed, with the hopes that new therapeutics can be developed against RT.—Basavapathruni, A., Anderson, K. S. Reverse transcription of the HIV-1 pandemic.

Key Words: resistance • nucleoside • non-nucleoside • AIDS • NRTI removal