| RESEARCH |
HIV integrase-DNA binding model The first detailed molecular binding model consistent with experimental data on the complex of HIV integrase and viral DNA has been obtained by James M. Briggs of the University of Houston and coworkers [J. Med. Chem., published online Jan. 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jm0301890]. HIV integrase binds to a DNA copy of the virus's genome and catalyzes its insertion into a host chromosome, inducing the host cell to synthesize viral proteins. The enzyme is thus an essential part of the viral life cycle and a target for the design of therapeutic inhibitors. But the search for such agents has been impeded until now by the lack of any experimental integrase-DNA structure. The new study predicts a specific and plausible binding pattern in the integrase-DNA complex (shown)--information that should aid inhibitor design efforts. The researchers used an efficient parallel-docking method developed at Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego, to rapidly compute energies for more than 113 billion possible intermolecular configurations--"a procedure considered computationally intractable a few years ago," the researchers note. |
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