Question

Integrase inhibitor approved for treatment of HIV is?

• A. Raltegravir
• B. Indinavir
• C. Lopinavir
• D. Tipranavir

Hint:

The integrase inhibitor class carries the suffix -gravir.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

This question is solved quickly by recognising drug-name suffixes, a high-yield trick in antiretroviral pharmacology. The integrase strand transfer inhibitors carry the suffix -gravir, so Raltegravir is immediately flagged as the integrase inhibitor; it was indeed the first of its class to gain regulatory approval for HIV and prevents the proviral DNA from being stitched into the host chromosome. Once integration is blocked, the virus cannot establish a productive infection in the cell. The other three choices end in -navir, the universal marker of HIV protease inhibitors. Indinavir, Lopinavir and Tipranavir all inhibit the aspartyl protease that processes the gag-pol polyprotein, yielding immature non-infectious virions, but they have nothing to do with the integrase enzyme. Hence by suffix logic alone the integrase inhibitor is the -gravir drug. \[\boxed{\text{Raltegravir}}\]