The Life Cycle of HIV Next
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a type of retrovirus, which are single stranded RNA viruses which can infect a
number of different cells, including CD4 bearing macrophages and T-helper lymphocytes within the host. There are
several steps in the viral replication cycle which may be taken advantage of in developing antiretroviral therapies.
The reverse transcription stage of HIV replication provides a good target for the action of two types of drugs: nucleoside
reverse transcriptase inhibitors (nucleoside analogs) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). Protease inhibitors target the maturation and budding of HIV particles.
(Figure 19 - overall life cycle)
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