Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil, Laboratório de Modelagem Molecular e Pesquisa em Ciências Farmacêuticas,

Abstract: HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT) is a therapeutic target for the treatment of HIV-positive individuals or those already showing AIDS symptoms. In this perspective, the identifi cation of new inhibitors for this enzyme is of great importance in view of the growing viral resistance to the existing treatments. This resistance has compromised the quality of life of those infected with multidrug-resistant strains, whose treatment options are already limited, putting at risk these individuals lives. The literature has recognized marine organisms and their products as natural sources for the identifi cation of new therapeutic options for different pathologies. In this brief review, we consider the structure of HIV-1 RT and its most common inhibitors, as well as some marine diterpenes originally reported as HIV-1 RT inhibitors to encourage the identifi cation and development of new marine antiviral prototypes. Keywords: brown algae diterpenes HIV inhibitor natural products reverse transcriptas