Tenofovir is a drug used against HIV infections and work by inhibiting replication of the viral genome. Based only on that information, which of the following statements do you think is likely true?

• A. Tenofovir is likely a protease inhibitor.
• B. Tenofovir likely inhibits a viral specific DNA transcriptase.
• C. Tenofovir likely inhibits reverse transcriptase.
• D. Tenofovir likely inhibits RNA dependent RNA polymerase.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the role of Tenofovir: It is a drug used against HIV infections and works by inhibiting replication of the viral genome.
2. Recall that HIV is a retrovirus, which means it has an RNA genome that must be reverse transcribed into DNA to integrate into the host genome.
3. Identify the key enzyme involved in this process: reverse transcriptase, which converts viral RNA into DNA.
4. Evaluate the options given: protease inhibitors block viral protein processing, DNA transcriptase is not a common viral enzyme, and RNA dependent RNA polymerase is used by RNA viruses that replicate RNA from RNA, not retroviruses.
5. Conclude that since Tenofovir inhibits viral genome replication in HIV, it most likely inhibits reverse transcriptase, the enzyme critical for converting viral RNA into DNA.