Synergistic binding of inhibitors to the protease from HIV type 1

Inhibition of the protease in HIV is a potentially useful approach for the treatment of AIDS. In the course of evaluating inhibitors of the HIV-1 protease, we observed a strong synergism between certain inhibitors that might be expected to bind to different sites in this enzyme. The binding affinity of carbobenzyloxyisoleucinylphenylalaninol, for example, is increased 125-fold in the presence of carbobenzyloxyglutaminylisoamylamide. These …