March 2000 Cover
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Researchers at Merck report that they have discovered two experimental compounds that in laboratory tests could block the activity of the enzyme integrase, which plays a vital part when HIV infects cells.
A Merck spokesman was quick to say, however, that the substances are not yet close to being developed into drugs, as many experiments and trials must be conducted before any benefits from this new class
of compounds may be felt by the public.
The integrase enzyme was discovered in 1988, and drugs designed to combat other HIV enzymes have been on the market, such as Merck's Crixivan to block the protease enzyme and Glaxo Wellcome's
AZT and 3TC, which fight the reverse transcriptase enzyme. Integrase is important because it is involved in the entrance of the virus into uninfected cells, while the other enzymes currently being treated cause the virus to
replicate after it has already evaded the immune system by using integrase to enter the DNA of cells.
Editor's Note: from Science
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