Structure-guided approach identifies a novel class of HIV-1 ribonuclease H inhibitors: binding mode insights through magnesium complexation and site-directed mutagenesis studies.

ABSTRACT: Persistent HIV infection requires lifelong treatment and among the 2.1 million new HIV infections that occur every year there is an increased rate of transmitted drug-resistant mutations. This fact requires a constant and timely effort in order to identify and develop new HIV inhibitors with innovative mechanisms. The HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) associated ribonuclease H (RNase H) is the only viral encoded enzyme that still lacks an efficient inhibitor despite the fact that it is a well-validated target whose functional abrogation compromises viral infectivity. Identification of new drugs is a long and expensive process that can be speeded up by in silico methods. In the present study, a structure-guided screening is coupled with a similarity-based search on the Specs database

SUBMITTER: Poongavanam V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6072344 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature