Ganciclovir

Abstract

Ganciclovir is a nucleoside analogue of guanosine, a homologue of acyclovir, and the first antiviral drug to be effective in the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in humans.¹⁴ It inhibits not only all the herpesviruses but also the transformation of normal cord-blood lymphocytes by Epstein–Barr virus.⁵⁷ In this review, I outline ganciclovir's mechanisms of action and resistance and discuss the clinical effectiveness of intravenous and oral ganciclovir.Mechanism of ActionThe structures of ganciclovir and of its analogue acyclovir are shown in Figure 1. In vivo, ganciclovir is converted to ganciclovir triphosphate, which inhibits viral DNA polymerases, including those . . .