Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Arch Pharm (Weinheim). 2020 Sep;353(9):e2000085. doi: 10.1002/ardp.202000085. Epub 2020 Jun 18.
Squalene synthase (SQS) inhibitors, mostly known as antihyperlipidemic agents for controlling blood cholesterol levels, have been increasingly used to study alterations of the cholesterol content in cell membranes. As such, SQS inhibitors have been demonstrated to control cellular activities related to cancer cell proliferation and migration, neuron degeneration, and parasite growth. While the mechanisms behind the effects of cellular cholesterol are still being revealed in detail, the evidence for SQS as a therapeutic target for several seemingly unrelated diseases is increasing. SQS inhibitors may be the next promising candidates targeting the three remaining primary therapeutic areas, beyond cardiovascular disease, which still need to be addressed; their application as anticancer, antimicrobial, and antineurodegenerative agents appears promising for new drug discovery projects underway.
鲨烯合酶（SQS）抑制剂，大多作为控制血液胆固醇水平的降脂药物而被熟知，其在细胞膜胆固醇含量变化方面的研究作用也逐渐得到重视。因此，SQS 抑制剂被证实可以控制与癌细胞增殖和迁移、神经元变性和寄生虫生长相关的细胞活动。虽然细胞胆固醇作用机制仍在详细揭示中，但 SQS 作为几种看似无关疾病的治疗靶点的证据正在增加。SQS 抑制剂可能是针对心血管疾病以外的另外三个主要治疗领域的下一个有前途的候选药物，这三个领域仍有待解决；它们作为抗癌、抗微生物和抗神经退行性药物的应用在正在进行的新药发现项目中似乎很有前景。
