Biochemistry professor Whitney Yin and her graduate student Young-sam Lee have discovered the atomic structure of pol gamma, an enzyme that is responsible for DNA replication in human mitochondria. When pol gamma comes in contact with anti-retroviral drugs, which are used to treat HIV, it can incorporate the drug into the body's mitochondrial DNA, interfering with its ability to function and causing a range of symptoms from nausea to bone marrow depletion to organ failure. While these side effects have been tolerated as unavoidable for years, this more complete understanding of pol gamma will allow drug researchers to develop a more targeted drug that can distinguish between pol gamma and HIV and significantly reduce toxicitiy in HIV patients. Professor Yin's work was published this week in Cell.
Learn more about research in the Yin Group.