Abstract: Clinical resistance to rilpivirine (RPV), a novel
nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase (
RT) inhibitor (
NNRTI), is associated an E-to-K mutation at position 138 (
E138K) in
RT together with an
M184I/V mutation that confers resistance against emtricitabine (FTC), a nucleoside
RT inhibitor (
NRTI) that is given together with RPV in therapy.
Abstract: These two mutations can compensate for each other in regard to fitness deficits conferred by each mutation alone, raising the question of why
E138K did not arise spontaneously in the clinic following lamivudine (3TC) use, which also selects for the
M184I/V mutations.