Pathology

Small molecule

Enzyme

Disease

Cysteine

Thioredoxin

Biology

Selenocysteine

Chemistry

Neurodegeneration

Thioredoxin reductase

Computational biology

Flavin group

Biochemistry

Medicine

Medicinal Research Reviews

Mammalian thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) enzymes are homodimeric flavin proteins sharing a unique yet essential selenocysteine residue at their C‐terminus. TrxRs, together with their endogenous substrate thioredoxins, play a crucial role in regulating diverse cellular redox events. A wealth of evidence from both clinic observations and bench studies supports that overactivation/dysfunction of TrxRs has a close link to the onset and development of various diseases, such as cancer and neurodegeneration. Thus, an increasing interest has been attracted to find small molecule modulators of TrxRs during the past years. Herein, we briefly discussed the relevance of targeting TrxRs inhibition for cancer treatment, and presented the small molecule inhibitors of mammalian TrxRs published in the nonpatent literatures from 2011 to 2016. The mechanisms of inhibition by different classes of molecules were summarized, and some inhibitors with promising anticancer activity were further discussed. We expect this work would be a comprehensive reference in the medicinal chemistry, and have a broad audience across multiple disciplines.

Small molecule inhibitors of mammalian thioredoxin reductase as potential anticancer agents: An update