Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025

Rapid Screening of HIV Reverse Transcriptase and Integrase Inhibitors
Published on: April 9, 2014
The Integrase: An Overview of a Key Player Enzyme in the Antiviral Scenario
Gioele Renzi1, Fabrizio Carta1, Claudiu T Supuran1
1Neuroscienze, Psicologia, Area del Farmaco e Salute del Bambino (NEUROFARBA) Department, Sezione di Scienze Farmaceutiche e Nutraceutiche, University of Florence, Via Ugo Schiff 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy.
Abstract:
Integration of a desossiribonucleic acid (DNA) copy of the viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) into host genomes is a fundamental step in the replication cycle of all retroviruses. The highly conserved virus-encoded Integrase enzyme (IN; EC 2.7.7.49) catalyzes such a process by means of two consecutive reactions named 3'-processing (3-P) and strand transfer (ST). The Authors report and discuss the major discoveries and advances which mainly contributed to the development of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) -IN targeted inhibitors for therapeutic applications. All the knowledge accumulated over the years continues to serve as a valuable resource for the design and development of effective antiretroviral drugs.
Related Concept Videos
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Retroviruses
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Viruses with RNA Genomes
Introduction to Virus

