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Elucidation of the structure of retroviral proteases: a reminiscence
Author(s) -
Jaskolski Mariusz,
Miller Maria,
Mohana Rao J. K.,
Gustchina Alla,
Wlodawer Alexander
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the febs journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.981
H-Index - 204
eISSN - 1742-4658
pISSN - 1742-464X
DOI - 10.1111/febs.13397
Subject(s) - reminiscence , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , medicine , psychology , virology , cognitive psychology
Determinations of only a very few protein structures had consequences comparable to the impact exerted by the structure of the protease encoded by HIV ‐1, published just over 25 years ago. The structure of this relatively small protein and its cousins from other retroviruses provided a clear target for a spectacularly successful structure‐assisted drug design effort that offered new hope for controlling the then‐escalating AIDS epidemic. This reminiscence is limited primarily to work conducted at the National Cancer Institute, and is not meant to be a comprehensive history of the field, but is rather an attempt to provide a very personal account of how the structures of this most thoroughly studied crystallographic target were determined.