Guide to HIV Protease Inhibitors: Uses and Side Effects

Image credit: clinicalinfo.hiv.gov

What are HIV protease inhibitors?

HIV protease inhibitors (PIs) inhibit HIV-1 and HIV-2 proteases and prevent cleavage of the gag-pol polyprotein during maturation of the newly formed viral particle. This results in the production of immature, non-infectious virus.

What are antiretrovirals & protease inhibitors?

These drugs are called antiretrovirals because they work against retroviruses such as HIV. Protease inhibitors work to reduce the amount of HIV virus in the blood, also known as viral load. This slows the progression of HIV and helps treat symptoms.

What is a protease inhibitor?

Protease inhibitors (PI) are a class of HIV antiviral drugs (AVRs) that break down the structural proteins necessary for the assembly and morphogenesis of virus particles. Protease is an enzyme needed to break down larger viral particles into smaller ones used to form a full-fledged HIV particle.

How many HIV protease inhibitors are there?

A large number of solved HIV protease protein structures have greatly facilitated the design of new and improved inhibitors. There are ten HIV protease inhibitors approved by the FDA; those inhibitors include: saquinavir, indinavir, ritonavir, nelfinavir, amprenavir, fosamprenavir, lopinavir, atazanavir, tipranavir, and darunavir ( Figure 2 ).

What Is HIV Protease Inhibitors

1. https://www.healthline.com/health/hiv-aids/protease-inhibitors
2. https://www.verywellhealth.com/protease-inhibitors-5097145
3. https://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/what-are-protease-inhibitors
4. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24937-protease-inhibitors
5. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323872
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4396582/
7. https://hivmanagement.ashm.org.au/antiretroviral-drugs/hiv-protease-inhibitors/
8. https://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/en/guidelines/hiv-clinical-guidelines-adult-and-adolescent-arv/protease-inhibitor-based-regimens