Trypsin and Chymotrypsin Inhibitors in Insects and Gut Leeches

Authors: Schoofs, L.; Clynen, E.; Salzet, M.

Source: Current Pharmaceutical Design, Volume 8, Number 7, 1 March 2002 , pp. 483-491(9)

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

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Abstract:

The constant increase of life expectancy is associated with major ageing of developed populations. This indicates that the new century will have one of most epidemic progressions of cardiovascular, cancer and inflammatory diseases. The high challenge for medical research is to compress such morbidity. In these conditions, invertebrates have demonstrated to be truly useful models in drug discovery for such ageing diseases. The last decade, drug discovery in leeches has opened the gate of new molecules to treat emphysema, coagulation, inflammation, dermitis and cancer. Also other invertebrates such as insects, which evolved from the annelids, harvest potential interesting molecules, such as serine protease inhibitors that can be exploited by the medical industry.

Keywords: trypsin; chymotrypsin inhibitors; insects; gut leeches; serine protease inhibitors; hirudo medicinalis; therostasin

Document Type: Review article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612023395718

Publication date: 2002-03-01

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Current Pharmaceutical Design publishes timely in-depth reviews covering all aspects of current research in rational drug design. Each issue is devoted to a single major therapeutic area. A Guest Editor who is an acknowledged authority in a therapeutic field has solicits for each issue comprehensive and timely reviews from leading researchers in the pharmaceutical industry and academia.

Each thematic issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design covers all subject areas of major importance to modern drug design, including: medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, drug targets and disease mechanism.