Analysis of nonnucleoside drug-resistant variants of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase

A number of chemically distinct nonnucleoside inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) have been reported. Several lines of evidence, including the isolation of RT mutants that show cross resistance, suggest that, despite their structural diversity, many of these inhibitors bind to a common site on HIV-1 RT. We have recently reported that, on the basis of analyses of HIV-1/HIV-2 chimeras, the natural product calanolide A may interact with a different site or sites in HIV-1 RT. We have used BspMI cassette mutagenesis to prepare a collection of HIV-1 RT mutants that show resistance to the known members of the general class of nonnucleoside inhibitors. This collection of mutants can be used to determine whether a new drug will show cross resistance with known inhibitors and to define amino acid positions critical for the action of the drugs. The mutants were used to analyze calanolide A, 1H,3H-thiazolo[3,4-a]benzimidazole(4i), and the acyclic nucleoside analog 1-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]-6-(phenylthio)thymine. These analyses suggest that all three drugs interact with HIV-1 RT within the previously defined common binding site for nonnucleoside inhibitors. However, the drugs respond differently to the panel of drug-resistant HIV-1 RTs, indicating that while the binding sites of the drugs overlap they are not identical.