Biomaterial Database

Trends in the design of nucleoside analogues as anti-HIV drugs. 2002

Mahmoud H el Kouni

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Center for AIDS Research, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA. m.elkouni@ccc.uab.edu

HIV infection remains incurable although several anti-HIV drugs have been identified and developed. Among these the nucleoside analogues were and remain in the forefront of anti-HIV chemotherapeutic regimens. Most of these nucleoside analogues are modified mainly in the sugar moiety. In general, they lack a free hydroxy group at the 3'-position. Consequently, they cannot participate in the formation of a 3',5'-phosphodiester linkage, which renders the nucleoside 5'-triphosphates of such nucleoside analogues effective anti-HIV agents. Preventing the formation of 3',5'-phosphodiester linkages leads to inhibition of the viral DNA strand elongation and ultimately chain termination. The phosphorylation of nucleoside analogues is a key factor in their efficacy as anti-HIV agents. Efficient phosphorylation depends largely on the structure of the nucleoside. Therefore, modification of the structure of nucleoside analogues are sought to enhance their phosphorylation and ultimately, effective inhibition of the HIV reverse transcriptase. This review is concerned with the trends in the design of nucleoside analogues as anti-HIV agents.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007536	Isomerism	The phenomenon whereby certain chemical compounds have structures that are different although the compounds possess the same elemental composition. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed)	Isomerisms
D009705	Nucleosides	Purine or pyrimidine bases attached to a ribose or deoxyribose. (From King & Stansfield, A Dictionary of Genetics, 4th ed)	Nucleoside,Nucleoside Analog,Nucleoside Analogs,Analog, Nucleoside,Analogs, Nucleoside
D010766	Phosphorylation	The introduction of a phosphoryl group into a compound through the formation of an ester bond between the compound and a phosphorus moiety.	Phosphorylations
D002626	Chemistry, Pharmaceutical	Chemistry dealing with the composition and preparation of agents having PHARMACOLOGIC ACTIONS or diagnostic use.	Medicinal Chemistry,Chemistry, Pharmaceutic,Pharmaceutic Chemistry,Pharmaceutical Chemistry,Chemistry, Medicinal
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D015195	Drug Design	The molecular designing of drugs for specific purposes (such as DNA-binding, enzyme inhibition, anti-cancer efficacy, etc.) based on knowledge of molecular properties such as activity of functional groups, molecular geometry, and electronic structure, and also on information cataloged on analogous molecules. Drug design is generally computer-assisted molecular modeling and does not include PHARMACOKINETICS, dosage analysis, or drug administration analysis.	Computer-Aided Drug Design,Computerized Drug Design,Drug Modeling,Pharmaceutical Design,Computer Aided Drug Design,Computer-Aided Drug Designs,Computerized Drug Designs,Design, Pharmaceutical,Drug Design, Computer-Aided,Drug Design, Computerized,Drug Designs,Drug Modelings,Pharmaceutical Designs
D015224	Dideoxynucleosides	Nucleosides that have two hydroxy groups removed from the sugar moiety. The majority of these compounds have broad-spectrum antiretroviral activity due to their action as antimetabolites. The nucleosides are phosphorylated intracellularly to their 5'-triphosphates and act as chain-terminating inhibitors of viral reverse transcription.	2',3'-Dideoxynucleosides,Dideoxyribonucleosides,ddNus,2',3' Dideoxynucleosides
D015394	Molecular Structure	The location of the atoms, groups or ions relative to one another in a molecule, as well as the number, type and location of covalent bonds.	Structure, Molecular,Molecular Structures,Structures, Molecular
D054303	HIV Reverse Transcriptase	A reverse transcriptase encoded by the POL GENE of HIV. It is a heterodimer of 66 kDa and 51 kDa subunits that are derived from a common precursor protein. The heterodimer also includes an RNAse H activity (RIBONUCLEASE H, HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS) that plays an essential role the viral replication process.	Reverse Transcriptase, HIV,Reverse Transcriptase, Human Immunodeficiency Virus,Transcriptase, HIV Reverse
D018894	Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors	Inhibitors of reverse transcriptase (RNA-DIRECTED DNA POLYMERASE), an enzyme that synthesizes DNA on an RNA template.	Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor,Inhibitors, Reverse Transcriptase,Inhibitor, Reverse Transcriptase,Transcriptase Inhibitor, Reverse