Question

4. A) At high doses, AZT had serious side effects especially on bone marrow cells. Based on the structure of AZT and how you think the inhibitor works, what do you think is the cause? B) The data below helps us to understand both how AZT affects the enzyme reverse transcriptase and how it may affect other cells. Interpret this data in light of your answers to part a. Why do you think bone marrow cells would be affected more than other cell types. OIO Fraction of Enzyme bound to Inhibitor . Human DNA dependent RNA polymerase AZT triphosphate Human DNA dependent RNA polymerase deoxythymidine triphosphate • HIV enzyme named above AZT triphosphate o HIV enzyme named above deoxythymidine triphosphate 10 50 20 30 40 Concentration of Compound (nM) 60

Answer 1

ANSWER:

A) AZT used as the anti-HIV drug. Headache, loss of appetite can count as the side effects of AZT. AZT had a serious side effects on the bone marrow, it mainly effect the region of soft tissues in the bones where the blood cell formation takes place. High doses of AZT can cause Anemia and Neutropenia diseases. AZT is the member of nucleotide-analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors class. It mainly works on inhibiting the HIV reverse transcriptase which slow down the life of virus causing AIDS in the body.