pol (hiv) pol (hiv) pol (dna polymerase) refers to a gene in retroviruses, or the protein produced by that gene. the gag-pol region containing the protease gene flanked by p6pol at the n-terminus and reverse transcriptase at the c-terminus. products of pol include: reverse transcriptase common to all retroviruses, this enzyme transcribes the viral rna into double-stranded dna. integrase this enzyme integrates the dna produced by reverse transcriptase into the host's genome. protease a protease is any enzyme that cuts proteins into segments. hiv's gag and pol genes do not produce their proteins in their final form, but as larger combination proteins; the specific protease used by hiv cleaves these into separate functional units. protease inhibitor drugs block this step.