Pol (DNA polymerase) refers to a gene in retroviruses, or the protein produced by that gene.
Products of pol include:
Reverse transcriptase
editCommon to all retroviruses, this enzyme transcribes the viral RNA into double-stranded DNA.
Integrase
editThis enzyme integrates the DNA produced by reverse transcriptase into the host's genome.
Protease
editA protease is any enzyme that cuts proteins into segments. HIV's gag and pol genes do not produce their proteins in their final form, but as larger combination proteins; the specific protease used by HIV cleaves these into separate functional units. Protease inhibitor drugs block this step.
See also
editExternal links
edit- Gene+Products,+pol at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
- pol+Gene+Products,+Human+Immunodeficiency+Virus at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)