title: Microbial inhibitors of cysteine proteases.
abstract: Cysteine proteases are one of the major classes of proteolytic enzymes involved in a number of physiological and pathological processes in plants, animals and microorganisms. When their synthesis, activity and localization in mammalian cells are altered, they may contribute to the development of many diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and cancer. Therefore, cysteine proteases have become promising drug targets for the medical treatment of these disorders. Inhibitors of cysteine proteases are also produced by almost every group of living organisms, being responsible for the control of intracellular proteolytic activity. Microorganisms synthesize cysteine protease inhibitors not only to regulate the activity of endogenous, often virulent enzymes, but also to hinder the host's proteolytic defense system and evade its immune responses against infections. Present work describes known to date microbial inhibitors of cysteine proteases in terms of their structure, enzyme binding mechanism, specificity and pathophysiological roles. The overview of both proteinaceous and small-molecule inhibitors produced by all groups of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists) and viruses is provided. Subsequently, possible applications of microbial inhibitors in science, medicine and biotechnology are also highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry of Microorganisms, Institute of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Wrocław, Przybyszewskiego 63/77, 51-148, Wrocław, Poland. mateusz.kedzior@uwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Mateusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kędzior
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry of Microorganisms, Institute of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Wrocław, Przybyszewskiego 63/77, 51-148, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Rafał
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seredyński
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry of Microorganisms, Institute of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Wrocław, Przybyszewskiego 63/77, 51-148, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gutowicz
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000378:metabolism*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D057056:Cysteine Proteases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005658:Fungi / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D014780:Viruses / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; D037521:Virulence Factors; D057056:Cysteine Proteases
keywords: Application; Cysteine protease; Inhibitor; Microbial inhibitor; Microorganism; Virus