Characterization of New DNA Aptamers for Anti-HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase

HIV-1 RT is a necessary enzyme for retroviral replication, which is the main target for antiviral therapy against AIDS. Effective anti-HIV-1 RT drugs are divided into two groups; nucleoside inhibitors (NRTI) and non-nucleoside inhibitors (NNRTI), which inhibit DNA polymerase. In this study, new DNA aptamers were isolated as anti-HIV-1 RT inhibitors. The selected DNA aptamer (WT62) presented with high affinity and inhibition against wild-type (WT) HIV-1 RT and gave a KD value of 75.10±0.29 nM and an IC₅₀ value of 84.81±8.54 nM. Moreover, WT62 decreased the DNA polymerase function of K103 N/Y181 C double mutant (KY) HIV-1 RT by around 80 %. Furthermore, the ITC results showed that this aptamer has small binding enthalpies with both WT and KY HIV-1 RTs through which the complex might form a hydrophobic interaction or noncovalent bonding. The NMR result also suggested that the WT62 aptamer could bind with both WT and KY mutant HIV-1 RTs at the connection domain.