title: Reverse transcription of the HIV-1 pandemic.
abstract: 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 approximately 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.
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, New Haven, CT 06520-8066, USA.
authors.forename: Aravind
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basavapathruni
authors.forename: Karen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase