Table of Contents
What does AZT stand for?
The drug is usually referred to by its generic name, zidovudine, which is abbreviated to ZDV. The abbreviation AZT is also used, which stands for azidothymidine. Its chemical name is 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine. Zidovudine is manufactured under the trade name Retrovir by GlaxoSmithKline.
What is AZT resistance?
AZT resistance involves mutations in the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase (RT); RT copies the viral genetic information from RNA into DNA. HIV-1 can develop AZT resistance in two ways; each resistance pathway is characterized by distinct RT mutations.
Is AZT drug still used?
AZT is still one of the most prescribed drugs in the world for HIV treatment due to this heavy use in LMICs.
How does AZT halt replication?
3. 1 AZT causes replication inhibition and SOS induction via accumulation of single-strand DNA gaps. If AZT causes DNA damage by inhibiting replication fork progression, replication should stop or slow when cultures are treated with AZT.
What feature of the reverse transcriptase enzyme is primarily responsible for the acquired resistance to drugs such as AZT?
HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) contributes to the development of resistance to all anti-AIDS drugs by introducing mutations into the viral genome. At the molecular level, mutations in RT result in resistance to RT inhibitors.
How many died from AZT?
Bartlett said, there have been 205 deaths. She noted, however, that the number of deaths in patients treated with AZT for at least 21 days was only 78, suggesting that the drug has been successful in prolonging many patients’ lives.
When were ARVs invented?
A history of ARVs. In the 1960s, a failed anti-cancer drug called zidovudine was shelved and rejected by the medical fraternity, due to unpleasant side effects. Twenty years later, under the name AZT, it became the vanguard of medicines in the fight against HIV.
Is AZT a nucleoside?
AZT belongs to a group of drugs known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). In 1987 AZT became the first of these drugs to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the purpose of prolonging the lives of AIDS patients.