Paper II
2023 July (Supplementary) (2019 Scheme) · 100 marks · 180 min

Question

Pharmacological basis for the use of Zidovudine in HIV.

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Answer

Zidovudine is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. After intracellular phosphorylation to its active triphosphate form, it is incorporated into the growing proviral DNA chain by HIV reverse transcriptase and acts as a chain terminator (lacking the 3’-OH group needed for the next nucleotide), halting reverse transcription of the viral RNA genome into DNA — the essential first step HIV requires to integrate into the host genome. This mechanism is the pharmacological basis for its use as part of combination antiretroviral therapy, and for prevention of mother-to-child transmission, where blocking early viral replication in the exposed infant is critical.

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