Human chitinases and chitinase-like proteins as emerging drug targets – a medicinal chemistry perspective

• DOI: 10.1039/d4md01050g
• Publication Date: 2025-04-24T08:20:42Z
• Authors: Önder Kurç; Nick Rähse; Holger Gohlke; Jonathan Cramer
• Keywords: Chitinase

Human chitinases and chitinase-like proteins (CLPs) provide the immune system with ability to recognize or process chitin originating from chitinous pathogens. In addition their role in host defense, most members of this protein family have evolved pleiotropic cellular effector functions broadly related homeostasis, cell proliferation, tissue remodeling. This wide-ranging modulate crucial processes proceeds via activation signal transduction cascades appears be fully independent recognition. Dysregulation chitinase/CLP has been linked a plethora inflammatory diseases, such as allergic airway diseases asthma, fibrosis, well cancer. fact predetermines certain prime targets for pharmacological intervention. Here, we an extensive review medicinal chemistry efforts targeting widely studied human family, namely acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase), chitotriosidase (CHIT1), chitinase-3-like 1 (CHI3L1/YKL-40).