Journal of Pharmacogenomics & Pharmacoproteomics

Abstract

The Pharmacogenetics of HIV Treatment: A Practical Clinical Approach

Elena Álvarez Barco and Sonia Rodríguez Nóvoa

HIV therapy is known to be associated with a large variability in efficacy and toxicity among different individuals even at standard doses. The reasons for this large inter-individual variability include race, gender, concomitant medications, drug compliance, underlying diseases and host genetic factors. Pharmacogenetic studies have focused on drug-metabolizing enzymes and membrane drug transporters to provide a better understanding of the mechanism underlying the interindividual variations in drug exposure and response. Despite of the high number of genetic polymorphisms discovered over the past few years, only a few of them became of clinical significance. In this review, the most relevant genetic polymorphisms affecting the activity and/or the expression of key drug-metabolizing enzymes and membrane drug transporters are summarized.