Targeting Protein–Protein Interactions for HIV Therapeutics

Abstract

The majority of current anti-HIV drugs target the viral reverse transcriptase or protease enzymes. However, enfuvirtide and maraviroc are drugs that have been US FDA approved recently and which function by inhibiting virus cell binding and entry which normally occurs through the interaction of the viral envelope protein with its cellular coreceptor. As HIV-1 utilizes many cellular cofactors during its replication cycle, there are a number of other protein–protein interactions that can serve as targets for anti-HIV drug development. In this review article we discuss the general method used to identify anti-HIV drugs that function through targeting protein–protein interactions. We also discuss the currently known cellular cofactors that may serve as targets in future drugs screens.