Target
enzyme: Protease
Press
to see how Indinavir binds to the protease. Indinavir is in red,
and the active site residues are in purple.
Reset
To
see more visit: http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/smd/mbi/chime/prframe.html
Mode
of Action
The HIV protease
works by cutting up long chains of the virus' proteins and enzymes
(polyproteins) into smaller pieces that go on to infect new cells.
Potease inhibitors bind to the HIV protease and, whilst bound, prevent
the enzyme from cutting the viral protein molecules to their correct
sizes.This means the virus cannot make copies that can infect new
cells. This all occurs near the end of the life
cycle of the virus.
Most
of these drugs are peptide-mimicking
compounds. In other words, these compounds resemble the natural
substrate of the HIV protease. The inhibitors bind to the enzyme
much more tightly than the natural substrate.
The protease
inhibitors can slow virus production in both newly infected cells
and cells that have been infected for a long time, this is different
to the NRTIs and NNRTIs which only work on cells that have been
infected for a short time.
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