Didanosine is used along with other medications to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Didanosine is in a class of medications called nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). It works by decreasing the amount of HIV in the blood.
Intracellularly it is converted by cellular enzymes to the active metabolite, dideoxyadenosine 5-triphosphate. This metabolite inhibits the activity of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase both by competing with the natural substrate, and by its incorporation into viral DNA. The lack of a 3-hydroxyl group in the incorporated nucleoside analogue prevents DNA chain elongation and therefore, the viral DNA growth is terminated.
Intracellularly it is converted by cellular enzymes to the active metabolite, dideoxyadenosine 5-triphosphate. This metabolite inhibits the activity of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase both by competing with the natural substrate, and by its incorporation into viral DNA. The lack of a 3-hydroxyl group in the incorporated nucleoside analogue prevents DNA chain elongation and therefore, the viral DNA growth is terminated.
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