Characterisation of hydrazides and hydrazine derivatives as novel aspartic protease inhibitors

摘要

Virtual screening of an in-house virtual library of synthetic compounds using FlexX, followed by enzyme inhibition, identified hydrazide and hydrazine derivatives as novel aspartic protease inhibitors. These compounds inhibited human cathepsin D and Plasmodium falciparum plasmepsin-II with low micromolar concentrations (IC50=1-2.5 μM). Modelling studies with plasmepsin-II predicted binding of ligands at the centre of the extended substrate-binding cleft, where hydrazide/hydrazine parts of the inhibitors acted as the transition state mimic by forming electrostatic interactions with catalytic aspartates.