Fusion inhibitors
Fusion Inhibitors
Fusion inhibitors (pronunciation: fyoo-zhun in-hib-it-ors) are a class of antiretroviral drugs that prevent the HIV virus from entering human cells. They work by blocking the virus's ability to fuse with the cell's membrane, hence the name 'fusion inhibitors'.
Etymology
The term 'fusion inhibitors' is derived from the English words 'fusion', meaning the process of joining two or more things together, and 'inhibitor', which refers to a substance that slows down or prevents a particular chemical reaction or other process.
Mechanism of Action
Fusion inhibitors work by binding to the gp41 protein on the surface of the HIV virus. This prevents the virus from undergoing the necessary conformational changes to fuse with the host cell's membrane. As a result, the virus is unable to enter the cell and infect it.
Examples
One of the most well-known fusion inhibitors is Enfuvirtide (also known as T-20). It was the first fusion inhibitor to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in combination with other antiretroviral drugs in the treatment of HIV.
Related Terms
- Antiretroviral therapy: The use of medications to manage HIV and prevent its progression to AIDS.
- Protease inhibitors: Another class of antiretroviral drugs that work by blocking the action of an enzyme HIV needs to replicate.
- Reverse transcriptase inhibitors: These drugs prevent HIV from making copies of itself by blocking the reverse transcriptase enzyme.
See Also
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