Phosphorus-containing Peptide Analogs as Peptidase Inhibitors

Abstract

Peptidases play a variety of roles in living organisms, from the routine work of digestion to highly specific hormonal regulation. They are involved in such diverse processes as the blood-clotting and complement cascades, blood pressure regulation, egg fertilization, posttranslational processing in protein synthesis, tumor invasion, and degenerative diseases such as emphysema and arthritis. Synthetic and naturally occurring peptidase inhibitors have been useful for studying the function of these enzymes and as medicinal agents. Indeed, a successful treatment for hypertension involves the use of an inhibitor of the peptidase that produces the octapeptide pressor hormone angiotensin II from its decapeptide precursor.