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Published on: December 21, 2019
Elucidation of the structure of retroviral proteases: a reminiscence
Mariusz Jaskolski1, Maria Miller2, J K Mohana Rao2
1Department of Crystallography, Faculty of Chemistry, A. Mickiewicz University and Center for Biocrystallographic Research, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
Abstract:
Determinations of only a very few protein structures had consequences comparable to the impact exerted by the structure of the protease encoded by HIV-1, published just over 25 years ago. The structure of this relatively small protein and its cousins from other retroviruses provided a clear target for a spectacularly successful structure-assisted drug design effort that offered new hope for controlling the then-escalating AIDS epidemic. This reminiscence is limited primarily to work conducted at the National Cancer Institute, and is not meant to be a comprehensive history of the field, but is rather an attempt to provide a very personal account of how the structures of this most thoroughly studied crystallographic target were determined.
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