Protease inhibitors

At Protease inhibitors it concerns different substances that can inhibit the body's own proteases in their function. These can be peptides, proteins or some low molecular weight substances. There are poisons, such as scorpion or snake poisons, which belong to the protease inhibitors. This shows that protease inhibitors can be very dangerous. In medicine, protease inhibitors are used, among other things, to act as anti-coagulants, to lower high blood pressure in the form of antihypertensive drugs or to be helpful in the form of antivirals for HIV or HCV infections.

What are protease inhibitors?

The term protease inhibitors encompasses all substances that inhibit the body's own proteases in their mode of action. The proteases are enzymes that are now called peptidases. The term proteases is out of date, but it helps to better understand what protease inhibitors are for.

Peptidases or proteases have the task of cleaving proteins. Since protease inhibitors inhibit these enzymes, the cleavage of these proteins is inhibited or even prevented.

Pharmacological effect

The effects of naturally occurring protease inhibitors can be deadly. This is the case, for example, with snake and scorpion poisons, which are naturally occurring protease inhibitors.

In medicine, the sensible use of protease inhibitors can in turn save lives. Four types of proteases can be inhibited, namely serine proteases, cysteine ​​proteases, metalloproteases and aspartate proteases. There are different protease inhibitors for each form of protease, which are specifically tailored to one of these four proteases. There are also some that can inhibit various proteases.

It is important to pay attention to the correct dosage, as the protease inhibitors used in medicine can also have a very toxic effect in the event of an overdose.

Medical application & use

Known protease inhibitors in medicine are those used to inhibit blood coagulation, to regulate high blood pressure and to treat HIV and HCV infections.

Anticoagulants are also called anticoagulants. They are used to reduce blood clotting that is too strong. There are different anticoagulants available. These include the coumarins, also called vitamin K antagonists, the heparins, the direct oral anticoagulants (which intervene directly in the coagulation cascade), all substances containing hirudin or the calcium complexing agents.

Protease inhibitors in the form of antihypertensive drugs are used to lower blood pressure. These can be beta blockers and calcium channel blockers, for example, which inhibit the influx of calcium. ACE inhibitors, aldosterone antagonists and AT1 antagonists inhibit the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Protease inhibitors also include all forms of diuretics, i.e. water that reduces blood pressure in this way.

Antivirals are also protease inhibitors. They prevent viruses from multiplying in the body. These include viruses in diseases such as HIV, where the use of protease inhibitors is particularly helpful. The way antivirals work is different. Some prevent docking to the cell membrane of the host organism, others prevent penetration into the host cell, some prevent the formation of new viruses or the release of newly formed viruses from the host cell.

Risks & side effects

All protease inhibitors must be used very carefully. As helpful as antivirals can be on the one hand, they can also be dangerous on the other, because they can not only attack the cells of the virus, but in the event of an overdose they can also bring the entire cell life of the treated organism to a standstill would have lethal consequences.

With anti-coagulants, it should always be noted that on the one hand allergic reactions to them can occur, but incorrect dosage can also lead to excessive and therefore life-threatening blood coagulation inhibition.

With regard to all blood pressure lowering drugs that belong to the group of protease inhibitors, it can be said that each of them can have various side effects and risks. Due to the diuretic effect, the body can dry out, it can lead to strong electrolyte losses and corresponding disturbances in the body and in the worst case the tendency to thrombosis increases due to thickened blood.

Cramps, confusion, cardiac arrhythmias or blood pressure that is much too low can also occur during treatment with protease inhibitors. It is therefore important to be particularly careful when using all forms of protease inhibitors.