NRTI

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor

Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs) and Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs) are two classes of antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV.

• NRTIs act by mimicking the natural building blocks of DNA, getting incorporated into the viral DNA during replication, and causing chain termination, which halts the virus’s ability to replicate. Examples include zidovudine and tenofovir.
• NNRTIs, on the other hand, bind directly to the reverse transcriptase enzyme at a different site, inhibiting its function and preventing the virus from copying its RNA into DNA. Examples include efavirenz and nevirapine.

Both drug classes are integral to antiretroviral therapy (ART), often used in combination to effectively suppress HIV replication.