NCIt definition : A synthetic nucleoside analogue with activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and
HIV. Intracellularly, lamivudine is phosphorylated to its active metabolites, lamiduvine
triphosphate (L-TP) and lamiduvine monophosphate (L-MP). In HIV, L-TP inhibits HIV-1
reverse transcriptase (RT) via DNA chain termination after incorporation of the nucleoside
analogue into viral DNA. In HBV, incorporation of L-MP into viral DNA by HBV polymerase
results in DNA chain termination. L-TP is a weak inhibitor of mammalian DNA polymerases
alpha and beta, and mitochondrial DNA polymerase. (NCI04);
Alternative definition : NCI-GLOSS: A drug used to treat infection caused by viruses.;