Therapeutic Effects: - Class: Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor (NRTI) - Emtricitabine is primarily used as an antiretroviral medication for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. It is often used in combination with other antiretroviral agents to enhance efficacy and limit the potential for drug resistance.
Mechanism of Action: - Emtricitabine is a cytidine analogue that gets phosphorylated by cellular enzymes to form emtricitabine 5'-triphosphate, which is the active form of the drug. This active form competes with the natural substrate, deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate, and incorporates into viral DNA. - By incorporating into the viral DNA, emtricitabine causes chain termination because it lacks a 3’-OH group necessary for forming the next phosphodiester bond. This action inhibits the activity of the HIV reverse transcriptase enzyme, preventing viral replication.
