Proteasome Inhibitors as Therapeutic Agents: Current and Future Strategies

• Published in: Current medicinal chemistry Vol. 10; no. 6; pp. 479 - 503
• Main Authors: Delcros, J., Floc'h, M., Prigent, C., Arlot-Bonnemains, Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Schiphol Bentham Science Publishers Ltd 01.03.2003; Bentham Science; Bentham Science Publishers
• Subjects: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Biodegradation; Biological and medical sciences; Cellular Biology; Cysteine Endopeptidases; General aspects; Humans; Inhibitors; Life Sciences; Medical sciences; Multienzyme Complexes; Multienzyme Complexes - antagonists & inhibitors; Neoplasms; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurodegenerative Diseases - drug therapy; Nitrogen; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Protease Inhibitors; Protease Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Proteins; Ubiquitins; Antineoplastic agent; Organic hydrazide; Ubiquitin; Multicatalytic endopeptidase complex; Organic carbazate; Alzheimer disease; Cyclic peptides; Parkinson disease; Non peptide compound; Review; Research and development; Structure activity relation; Degenerative disease; Localization; Nervous system diseases; Enzyme; Peptidomimetic compound; Huntington disease; Enzyme inhibitor; Cachexia; Aldehyde; Cerebral disorder; Pseudopeptide; Peptidases; Striated muscle disease; Synthetic product; Central nervous system disease; Hydrolases; Intracellular
• DOI: 10.2174/0929867033368231
• ISSN: 0929-8673

In cells, protein degradation is a key pathway for the destruction of abnormal or damaged proteins as well as for the elimination of proteins whose presence is no longer required. Among the various cell proteases, the proteasome, a multicatalytic macromolecular complex, is specifically required for the degradation of ubiquitinated proteins. In normal cells, the proteasome ensures the elimination of numerous proteins that play critical roles in cell functions throughout the cell cycle. Defects in the activity of this proteolytic machinery can lead to the disorders of cell function that is believed to be the root cause of certain diseases. Indeed, many proteins involved in the control of cell cycle transitions are readily destroyed by the proteasome once their tasks have been accomplished. Moreover, because proteasome inhibitors can provoke cell death, it has been suggested that proteasomes must be continually degrading certain apoptotic factors. For these reasons, proteasome inhibition has become a new and potentially significant strategy for the drug development in cancer treatment. The proteasome possesses three major peptidase activities that can individually be targeted by drugs. Different classes of proteasome inhibitors are reviewed here. In addition, we present new pseudopeptides with the enriched nitrogen backbones bearing a side chain and a modified C-terminal position that inhibit proteasome activity.