pubmed:abstractText |
Potent and noncovalent inhibitors of caspase-1 were produced by incorporating a secondary amine (reduced amide) isostere in place of the conventional electrophile (e.g., aldehyde) that normally confers high potency to cysteine protease inhibitors. Benzyl- or cyclohexylamines produced potent, reversible, and competitive inhibitors that were selective for caspase-1 (e.g., K(i) = 47 nM) over caspases 3 and 8 with minimal cytotoxicity. Unlike most cysteine protease inhibitors, these compounds do not react covalently and indiscriminately with thiols.
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pubmed:affiliation |
Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
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