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NRTIs

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of AIDS

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Definition

Nucleoside and nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are a class of antiretroviral (ARV) medications primarily used to treat HIV infection. Two NRTIs (often referred to as the ARV “backbone”) are commonly included as part of a three- or four-drug treatment regimen. The NRTI class comprises one nucleotide analogue, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (DF), and six nucleoside analogues: abacavir, didanosine, emtricitabine, lamivudine, stavudine, and zidovudine. These medications act to inhibit the active site of the enzyme reverse transcriptase, which is necessary for the synthesis of viral complementary DNA (cDNA) from viral RNA as part of the HIV replication cycle. Zalcitabine, a nucleoside analogue, was previously used in clinical practice but has since been discontinued by its manufacturer. A new nucleotide analogue, tenofovir alafenamide (AF), is in phase III clinical trials and has been submitted for approval to regulatory agencies in the United States and Europe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 1124 W. Carson St., CDCRC 205, Torrance, CA, 90502, USA

    David Sears & Eric S. Daar

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  1. David Sears
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  2. Eric S. Daar
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Correspondence to Eric S. Daar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Cell & Molecular Biology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Thomas J. Hope

  2. Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

    Mario Stevenson

  3. University of California, San Diego Dept. Pathology, La Jolla, California, USA

    Douglas Richman

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Sears, D., Daar, E.S. (2015). NRTIs. In: Hope, T., Stevenson, M., Richman, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of AIDS. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9610-6_442-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9610-6_442-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9610-6

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