AZT is one drug used as an HIV inhibitor. How does it specifically inhibit viral replication?
A) AZT is not taken up by human cells.
B) AZT binds to human polymerases with lower affinity than to viral reverse transcriptase.
C) AZT cannot be phosphorylated to a triphosphate.
D) AZT only inhibits active transcription and not DNA replication.
E) AZT inhibits viral assembly and packing.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

AZT, or zidovudine, is incorporated into the growing viral DNA chain by the viral reverse transcriptase enzyme. Once incorporated, it terminates DNA chain elongation, inhibiting viral replication. It has higher affinity for viral reverse transcriptase than for human polymerases, making it selective for inhibition of viral replication.

AZT Is One Drug Used as an HIV Inhibitor