Some of the drugs used to treat HIV patients are competitive inhibitors of the HIV reverse transcriptase enzyme.Unfortunately,the high mutation rate of HIV means that the virus rapidly acquires mutations with amino acid changes that make them resistant to these competitive inhibitors.Where in the reverse transcriptase enzyme would such amino acid changes most likely occur in drug-resistant viruses?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Amino acid changes that make viruses resistant to competitive inhibitors would most likely occur in or near the active site of the HIV reverse transcriptase enzyme, which is the site where the drugs bind and inhibit the enzyme. Mutations in this region would disrupt the binding of the drug and enable the virus to continue replicating.

Some of the Drugs Used to Treat HIV Patients Are