PurePep® Blog

Cyclic hexapeptide mimics designed to disrupt HIV-1 integrase interaction with key cell protein involved in viral import

Efforts to fight HIV infection have included the development of drugs that disrupt the integration of proviral DNA into the host genome. Researchers based at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Australia, have developed cyclic hexapeptides that disrupt the interaction between the viral integrase and a key protein involved in viral import, lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75). The peptides closely mimicked the structure of the LEDGF binding domain but their low affinities indicate that more interactions must be included in order to achieve the potency needed for an effective drug.

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