Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 17, 2025

Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship, Activity Prediction, and Molecular Dynamics of Non-nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
Published on: May 9, 2025
Remdesivir triphosphate blocks DNA synthesis and increases exonucleolysis by the replicative mitochondrial DNA
Elena J Ciesielska1, Shalom Kim1, Hyacintha-Ghislaine M Bisimwa1
1Department of Chemistry, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL 36117, United States.
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the FDA to authorize a new nucleoside analogue, remdesivir, for emergency use in affected individuals. We examined the effects of its active metabolite, remdesivir triphosphate (RTP), on the activity of the replicative mitochondrial DNA polymerase, Pol γ. We found that while RTP is not incorporated by Pol γ into a nascent DNA strand, it remains associated with the enzyme impeding its synthetic activity and stimulating exonucleolysis. In spite of that, we found no evidence for deleterious effects of remdesivir treatment on the integrity of the mitochondrial genome in human cells in culture.
Related Concept Videos
Homologous Recombination
Restarting Stalled Replication Forks
Translesion DNA Polymerases
TLS polymerases are found in all three domains of life - archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes. Of the different classes of TLS polymerases, members of the Y family are fitted with specialized structures that...
Drugs that Destabilize Microtubules
Mutations
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle

