nucleoside analogue

nucleoside analogue

n.

Any of a group of antiviral drugs that inhibit the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase and are used in the treatment of HIV infection.

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analogue [an´ah-log]

1. a part or organ having the same function as another, but of different evolutionary origin.

2. a chemical compound having a structure similar to that of another but differing from it in respect to a certain component; it may have similar or opposite action metabolically. Also spelled analog.

nucleoside analogue a structural analogue of a nucleoside, a category that includes both purine analogues and pyrimidine analogues.

purine analogue a structural analogue of one of the purine bases(purine, adenine, or guanine); mercaptopurine and thioguanine are used as antineoplastics and azathioprine is an immunosuppressive. The antiviral agent vidarabine is an analogue of the adenine nucleoside adenosine.

pyrimidine analogue a structural analogue of one of the pyrimidine bases(cytosine, thymine, or uracil); fluorouracil and cytarabine are important antineoplastic agents.

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nucleoside analogue

Molecular medicine An artificial nucleoside which, when incorporated into viral DNA during replication, prevents production of new virus; NAs can inhibit DNA production in healthy cells; a molecule that structurally mimics a nucleoside. See AIDS, Zidovudine.