Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor

A nucleoside analogue antiviral drug that inhibits reverse transcriptase after conversion to an active triphosphate and incorporation into viral DNA, usually stopping chain extension.

Reverse transcriptase: An enzyme that synthesizes DNA from an RNA template. This is the viral enzyme that incorporates active drug analogues into DNA.
Antiretroviral therapy: Treatment of retroviral infection with drugs that inhibit viral replication. NRTIs form a core component of combination treatment for HIV.
Nucleoside chemistry: The study and synthesis of compounds consisting of a nitrogenous base linked to a sugar. NRTI design modifies nucleoside structures to preserve viral-enzyme recognition while disrupting synthesis.
Nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor: An antiviral drug that inhibits reverse transcriptase by binding to an allosteric site rather than mimicking a nucleoside. NNRTIs inhibit the same enzyme without incorporation into viral DNA.
Nucleoside analogue: A compound resembling a nucleoside that can interfere with nucleic-acid synthesis or metabolism. NRTIs are antiviral members of this broader class of structural mimics.
HIV treatment: Medical care that suppresses human immunodeficiency virus and prevents disease progression. NRTIs are widely used in the drug combinations that control HIV.
Zidovudine: A thymidine analogue and the first antiretroviral drug approved to treat HIV infection. Its development established nucleoside analogues as a therapeutic strategy against HIV.
Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor: A reverse-transcriptase inhibitor that resembles a nucleotide and requires fewer phosphorylation steps than a nucleoside analogue. Nucleotide analogues already contain a phosphate group, unlike nucleoside analogues.
Nucleoside triphosphate: A nucleoside bearing three phosphate groups, used as a building block for nucleic acids. Cellular phosphorylation produces the active forms that compete with natural DNA building blocks.
Tenofovir: An antiviral nucleotide analogue used to treat HIV and hepatitis B. This widely used related drug illustrates how nucleotide analogues serve similar clinical roles.

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