Question

Which of the following can cause AZT to become less effective as a treatment for HIV infection?

A. Virions inside a person can mutate to a form that allows reverse transcriptase to use AZT as an efficient DNA building block
B. All of the above.
C. Virions inside a person can mutate to a form that does not allow reverse transcriptase to incorporate AZT into DNA strands
D. AZT molecules eventually mutate into regular thymidine

Answer 1

AZT (azidothymidine) can become less effective as a treatment for HIV infection when the virions mutate to a form that does not allow reverse transcriptase to incorporate AZT into DNA strands.

Step-by-step explanation:

AZT (azidothymidine) is an antiretroviral drug used in the treatment of HIV infection. It works by binding to the reverse transcriptase enzyme, which is essential for the virus to convert its RNA genome into DNA. This prevents further replication of the virus. However, AZT can become less effective due to the mutation of the virus. The virions inside a person can mutate into a form that does not allow reverse transcriptase to incorporate AZT into DNA strands, making the drug less effective in inhibiting viral replication.