Kinchington D
Department of Virology, St Bartholomew's, London, UK.
J Clin Pathol. 1999 Feb;52(2):89-94. doi: 10.1136/jcp.52.2.89.
In the early 1980s many institutions in Britain were seriously considering whether there was a need for specialist departments of virology. The arrival of HIV changed that perception and since then virology and antiviral chemotherapy have become two very active areas of bio-medical research. Cloning and sequencing have provided tools to identify viral enzymes and have brought the day of the "designer drug" nearer to reality. At the other end of the spectrum of drug discovery, huge numbers of compounds for screening can now be generated by combinatorial chemistry. The impetus to find drugs effective against HIV has also stimulated research into novel treatments for other virus infections including herpesvirus, respiratory infections, and hepatitis B and C viruses. The need to understand the function of the immune system during HIV infection has brought virologists and immunologists together into new partnerships. The huge increase in activity in antiviral research is reflected in the frequency with which these drugs are now being licensed: in 1985 there were two licensed antiviral drugs for systemic use. Since then approximately 20 compounds have been licensed and more are being submitted to the regulatory authorities on a regular basis.
20世纪80年代初，英国的许多机构都在认真考虑是否有必要设立专门的病毒学系。艾滋病病毒的出现改变了这种看法，从那时起，病毒学和抗病毒化疗就成为了生物医学研究中两个非常活跃的领域。克隆和测序提供了识别病毒酶的工具，使“设计药物”的日子更接近现实。在药物发现的另一端，现在可以通过组合化学产生大量用于筛选的化合物。寻找有效抗艾滋病病毒药物的动力也推动了对其他病毒感染的新疗法的研究，包括疱疹病毒、呼吸道感染以及乙型和丙型肝炎病毒。了解艾滋病病毒感染期间免疫系统功能的需求使病毒学家和免疫学家结成了新的合作关系。抗病毒研究活动的大幅增加反映在这些药物现在获得许可的频率上：1985年有两种用于全身治疗的抗病毒药物获得许可。从那时起，大约有20种化合物获得了许可，并且有更多的化合物正在定期提交给监管机构。
