The design and synthesis of 13 novel peptidyl carbamates are described. When tested for inhibitory activity toward porcine pancreatic elastase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin, six compounds were found to specifically inhibit elastase without affecting the other two serine proteases. All the active inhibitors had an amino acid isostere at the P1 position. Kinetic studies indicated that the inhibition was competitive with Ki values ranging from 4.23 X 10(-5) to 2.4 X 10(-6) M. The degree of inhibition was found to be dependent on the specificity of the peptide chain for the extended subsites on the enzyme as well as on the nature of P1'. Preliminary work on one inhibitor indicates that the inhibition is reversible and proceeds via the rapid formation of a strong enzyme-inhibitor complex, followed by slow acylation of the serine residue on the active site of the enzyme. Peptidyl carbamates represent a novel class of elastase inhibitors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.