title: Cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors: discovery, selectivity and the future.
abstract: The recent marketing of two selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors climaxes the first phase of an exciting and fast-paced effort to exploit a novel molecular target for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Much has been written in the lay and scientific press about the potential of COX-2 inhibitors as anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents that lack the gastrointestinal side-effects of traditional NSAIDs. Although research on COX-2 inhibitors has focussed mainly on inflammation and pain, experimental and epidemiological data suggest that COX-2 inhibitors could be used in the treatment or prevention of a broader range of diseases. In this review, some key points and unresolved issues related to the discovery of COX-2 inhibitors, the kinetic and structural basis for their selectivity, and possible complications in their development and use will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Center in Molecular Toxicology and Vanderbilt Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. marnett@toxicology.mc.vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Marnett
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Kalgutkar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D007527:Isoenzymes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases