Viruses 2010, 2(1), 147-165; doi:10.3390/v2010147
Comparative Studies on Retroviral Proteases: Substrate Specificity
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, Hungary
Received: 7 October 2009 / Revised: 12 January 2010 / Accepted: 13 January 2010 / Published: 14 January 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Retroviral Enzymes)
Abstract
Exogenous retroviruses are subclassified into seven genera and include viruses that cause diseases in humans. The viral Gag and Gag-Pro-Pol polyproteins are processed by the retroviral protease in the last stage of replication and inhibitors of the HIV-1 protease are widely used in AIDS therapy. Resistant mutations occur in response to the drug therapy introducing residues that are frequently found in the equivalent position of other retroviral proteases. Therefore, besides helping to understand the general and specific features of these enzymes, comparative studies of retroviral proteases may help to understand the mutational capacity of the HIV-1 protease. View Full-TextKeywords:
retroviral proteases; HIV protease; substrate specificity
▼
Figures
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
Tözsér, J. Comparative Studies on Retroviral Proteases: Substrate Specificity. Viruses 2010, 2, 147-165.