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Antiretroviral

Definition

An agent or process effective against a retrovirus, which is a virus composed of RNA, not DNA. Retroviruses have an enzyme called reverse transcriptase that gives them the unique property of transcribing RNA (their RNA) into DNA. The retroviral DNA can then integrate into the chromosomal DNA of the host cell to be expressed there.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, is a retrovirus.