How HIV develops resistance to key drugs discovered
The mechanism behind how HIV can develop resistance to a widely prescribed group of drugs has been uncovered by new research, with the findings opening the door to the development of more effective treatments. Today a number of drugs are available which help to control HIV infection, including a group called integrase strand transfer inhibitors. There are four drugs within this family of medication: raltegravir , elvitegravir , dolutegravir , bictegravir . They all work by binding with one of HIV's key enzymes, called integrase, to stop it from inserting the virus genetic information into DNA of human cells. While initially highly effective, over time HIV can develop resistance to these drugs. The study discovered the mechanism HIV uses to develop resistance to this group of drugs. Although the drugs are normally very effective at binding and blocking integrase, over time, the virus can weaken this bond and thus enable its key enzyme to work again. The researchers uncovered ...