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Updated: Jul 19, 2025

Defining Substrate Specificities for Lipase and Phospholipase Candidates
Published on: November 23, 2016
Phosphatidylcholine-Specific Phospholipase C as a Promising Drug Target
Chatchakorn Eurtivong1, Euphemia Leung2, Nabangshu Sharma3,4
1Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, 447 Si Ayutthaya Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
Abstract:
Phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) is an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of the important secondary messengers phosphocholine and diacylglycerol (DAG) from phosphatidylcholine. Although PC-PLC has been linked to the progression of many pathological conditions, including cancer, atherosclerosis, inflammation and neuronal cell death, studies of PC-PLC on the protein level have been somewhat neglected with relatively scarce data. To date, the human gene expressing PC-PLC has not yet been found, and the only protein structure of PC-PLC that has been solved was from Bacillus cereus (PC-PLC). Nonetheless, there is evidence for PC-PLC activity as a human functional equivalent of its prokaryotic counterpart. Additionally, inhibitors of PC-PLC have been developed as potential therapeutic agents. The most notable classes include 2-aminohydroxamic acids, xanthates, N,N'-hydroxyureas, phospholipid analogues, 1,4-oxazepines, pyrido[3,4-b]indoles, morpholinobenzoic acids and univalent ions. However, many medicinal chemistry studies lack evidence for their cellular and in vivo effects, which hampers the progression of the inhibitors towards the clinic. This review outlines the pathological implications of PC-PLC and highlights current progress and future challenges in the development of PC-PLC inhibitors from the literature.
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