HIV-1 drug resistance. Molecular pathogenesis and laboratory monitoring

Molecular and clinical aspects of HIV-1 pathogenesis are described, including the turnover of the HIV-1 population in vivo, the clinical significance of resistance to HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors, and the inter-relationship between virus replication and RT inhibitor resistance. The molecular genetics of RT inhibitor resistance, including interactive effects of different RT mutations and the implications of those effects for combination chemotherapy, are summarized. Structural studies of RT and the biochemical bases of drug resistance are discussed.