Coming between a virus and its host
Nature Chemical Biology
May 17, 2010
Newly designed small molecules can inhibit HIV replication by blocking a viral-host interaction, reports a study published online this week in Nature Chemical Biology.
Interaction between the HIV-1 enzyme, integrase, and the cellular cofactor LEDGF/p75 plays a crucial role in viral integration. Zeger Debyser and colleagues design small molecules which block this interaction and inhibit HIV replication, even with HIV strains that are resistant to clinically used integrase inhibitors.
This work demonstrates a novel mechanism for inhibiting HIV integrase, and also illustrates the feasibility for the design of small molecules that inhibit protein-protein interaction between a viral protein and a cellular host factor.
doi: 10.1038/nchembio.370
Research highlights
-
May 12
Geoscience: Monitoring earthquakes at the speed of lightNature
-
May 4
Microbiology: Bacteriophage therapy helps treat multi-drug resistant infection in an immunocompromised patientNature Communications
-
Apr 27
Planetary science: Building blocks of DNA detected in meteoritesNature Communications
-
Apr 8
Health: Psilocybin use associated with lower risk of opioid addictionScientific Reports
-
Apr 5
Energy: Winterizing the Texan energy infrastructure pays off in the long termNature Energy
-
Mar 17
Neuroscience: Sample size matters in studies linking brain scans to behaviourNature