Nox Inhibitors & Therapies: Rational Design of Peptidic and Small Molecule Inhibitors

Curr Pharm Des. 2015;21(41):6023-35. doi: 10.2174/1381612821666151029112013.

Abstract

Oxidative stress-related diseases underlie many if not all of the major leading causes of death in United States and the Western World. Thus, enormous interest from both academia and pharmaceutical industry has been placed on the development of agents which attenuate oxidative stress. With that in mind, great efforts have been placed in the development of inhibitors of NADPH oxidase (Nox), the major enzymatic source of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in many cells and tissue. The regulation of a catalytically active Nox enzyme involves numerous protein-protein interactions which, in turn, afford numerous targets for inhibition of its activity. In this review, we will provide an updated overview of the available Nox inhibitors, both peptidic and small molecules, and discuss the body of data related to their possible mechanisms of action and specificity towards each of the various isoforms of Nox. Indeed, there have been some very notable successes. However, despite great commitment by many in the field, the need for efficacious and well-characterized, isoform-specific Nox inhibitors, essential for the treatment of major diseases as well as for delineating the contribution of a given Nox in physiological redox signalling, continues to grow.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Disease
  • Drug Design*
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemical synthesis
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • NADPH Oxidases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • NADPH Oxidases / metabolism
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Peptides / chemical synthesis
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / pharmacology*
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemical synthesis
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemistry
  • Small Molecule Libraries / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Peptides
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • NADPH Oxidases