New directions for protease inhibitors directed drug discovery

Proteases play crucial roles in various biological processes, and their activities are essential for all living organisms—from viruses to humans. Since their functions are closely associated with many pathogenic mechanisms, their inhibitors or activators are important molecular targets for developing treatments for various diseases. Here, we describe drugs/drug candidates that target proteases, such as malarial plasmepsins, β ‐secretase, virus proteases, and dipeptidyl peptidase‐4. Previously, we reported inhibitors of aspartic proteases, such as renin, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease, human T‐lymphotropic virus type I protease, plasmepsins, and β‐secretase, as drug candidates for hypertension, adult T‐cell leukaemia, human T‐lymphotropic virus type I‐associated myelopathy, malaria, and Alzheimer's disease. Our inhibitors are also described in this review article as examples of drugs that target proteases. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 106: 563–579, 2016.