Maturation inhibitor
Encyclopedia
The maturation inhibitors are a class of antiviral drugs for the treatment of infection with HIV
. They act by interfering with the maturation of the virus. Specifically, drugs in this class disrupt the final step in the processing of the HIV-1 Gag protein, leading to the formation of noninfectious, immature virus particles, incapable of infecting other cells. No other class of drugs shares this mechanism of action, thus maturation inhibitors retain inhibitory activity against HIV infections with resistance. There are no currently available drugs from the class, however several are in clinical trials. The first maturation inhibitor to be studied in humans was bevirimat
.
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
. They act by interfering with the maturation of the virus. Specifically, drugs in this class disrupt the final step in the processing of the HIV-1 Gag protein, leading to the formation of noninfectious, immature virus particles, incapable of infecting other cells. No other class of drugs shares this mechanism of action, thus maturation inhibitors retain inhibitory activity against HIV infections with resistance. There are no currently available drugs from the class, however several are in clinical trials. The first maturation inhibitor to be studied in humans was bevirimat
Bevirimat
Bevirimat is an anti-HIV drug derived from a betulinic acid-like compound, first isolated from Syzygium claviflorum, a Chinese herb. It is believed to inhibit HIV by a novel mechanism, so-called maturation inhibition. It is not currently U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved, but is...
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