Kinetic Evaluation of Potential Inhibitors for Selected Cysteine Proteases

Charles University Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Student: Anna Odvárková Supervisor: RNDr. Jakub Hofman, Ph.D. Consultants: Carina Lemke Prof. Dr. Michael Gütschow Title of diploma thesis: Kinetic Evaluation of Potential Inhibitors for Selected Cysteine Proteases Cysteine cathepsins are proteases which are naturally present in the human body, taking part in various physiological processes such as cell signaling, proliferation or bone remodeling. However, their dysregulation leads to serious disorders. An aberrant activity of cysteine cathepsins is present in diseases like cancer, osteoporosis, neurodegenerative disorders or autoimmune diseases. Therefore, these enzymes can serve as valuable diagnostic or therapeutic targets. Rhodesain is a parasitic protease produced by Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and essential for its survival. This enzyme shares a high homology with human cysteine cathepsin L. Inhibition of rhodesain can be a potential treatment of African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness. Inhibitory potency of several compounds against the target enzymes was assayed spectrophotometrically or fluorometrically and the results were evaluated by using linear or non-linear regression. Determination of a Michaelis- Menten constant..