Which drug class is commonly used in combination with other agents for HIV prophylaxis and treatment to inhibit the viral enzyme responsible for converting viral RNA into DNA?
1) Protease Inhibitors (PIs)
2) Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors (INSTIs)
3) Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs)
4) Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs)
π Explanation:
NRTIs (e.g., Tenofovir, Emtricitabine) work by mimicking natural nucleosides and terminating the growing DNA chain during the reverse transcription process, which is the mechanism by which HIV converts its RNA genome into DNA. Other classes like PIs inhibit viral protein maturation, INSTIs block viral DNA integration into the host genome, and NNRTIs also block reverse transcriptase but via a different mechanism.
MCQ