Bonding Models and AIDS Drugs

• Without HIV-protease, HIV could not spread in the human body because the virus could not copy itself, and AIDS would not develop.
• With knowledge of the HIV-protease structure, drug companies designed a molecule that would disable protease by sticking to the working part of the molecule (called the active site).
• By the early 1990s, these companies had developed several drug molecules that inhibit the action of HIV-protease called protease inhibitors.
• In human trials, protease inhibitors in combination with other drugs have decreased the viral count in HIV-infected individuals to undetectable levels.
• Although these drugs do not cure AIDS, HIV-infected individuals who regularly take their medication can expect nearly normal life spans.