Structural basis of HIV inhibition by L-nucleosides: Opportunities for drug development and repurposing

Francesc X. Ruiz, Anthony Hoang, Christopher R. Dilmore, Jeffrey J. DeStefano, Eddy Arnold

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Infection with HIV can cripple the immune system and lead to AIDS. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a hepadnavirus that causes human liver diseases. Both pathogens are major public health problems affecting millions of people worldwide. The polymerases from both viruses are the most common drug target for viral inhibition, sharing common architecture at their active sites. The L-nucleoside drugs emtricitabine and lamivudine are widely used HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) and HBV polymerase (Pol) inhibitors. Nevertheless, structural details of their binding to RT(Pol)/nucleic acid remained unknown until recently. Here, we discuss the implications of these structures, alongside related complexes with L-dNTPs, for the development of novel L-nucleos(t)ide drugs, and prospects for repurposing them.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1832-1846
Number of pages15
JournalDrug Discovery Today
Volume27
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2022

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Pharmacology
  • Drug Discovery

Keywords

  • HIV-1 reverse transcriptase
  • L-nucleoside
  • drug development
  • drug resistance
  • hepatitis B virus polymerase
  • repurposing

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