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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship, Activity Prediction, and Molecular Dynamics of Non-nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
Published on: May 9, 2025
NCp7: targeting a multitasking protein for next-generation anti-HIV drug development part 1: covalent inhibitors
Luca Sancineto1, Nunzio Iraci2, Oriana Tabarrini3
1Department of Heterorganic Chemistry, Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies, Lodz, Poland.
Abstract:
The major internal component of the HIV virion core is the nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7), a small, highly basic protein that is essential for multiple stages of the viral replicative cycle, and whose structure is preserved in all viral strains, including clinical isolates from therapy-experienced patients. This key protein is recognised as a potential target for an effective next-generation antiretroviral therapy, because it could offer the possibility to develop broad-spectrum agents that are less prone to select for resistant strains. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the covalent NCp7 inhibitors that have emerged over the past 25 years of drug discovery campaigns, emphasising, where possible, their structure-activity relationships (SARs) and pharmacophoric features.
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