Which drug class prevents HIV from converting its RNA into DNA within host cells?

The drug class that prevents HIV from converting its RNA into DNA within host cells is reverse transcriptase inhibitors. HIV is a retrovirus, and its life cycle involves the crucial step of reverse transcription, where the viral RNA genome is reverse transcribed into DNA by the enzyme reverse transcriptase. By inhibiting this enzyme, reverse transcriptase inhibitors effectively block the replication process of the virus, preventing it from integrating into the host's cellular DNA and establishing infection.

Integrase inhibitors, on the other hand, function at a later stage in the viral life cycle. They target the integrase enzyme, which is responsible for integrating the viral DNA into the host's genome after reverse transcription has already occurred. Therefore, while integrase inhibitors are important in managing HIV, they do not directly prevent the conversion of RNA to DNA.

Protease inhibitors and entry inhibitors serve different roles in HIV treatment. Protease inhibitors inhibit the protease enzyme needed for viral maturation after it has been replicated, and entry inhibitors block the virus from entering human cells altogether. However, none of these classes directly target the process of reverse transcription, making reverse transcriptase inhibitors the correct answer for this specific question.