Advances in thioredoxin reductase and its inhibitors

Thioredoxin reductase(TrxR)is a seleniferous homodimeric flavoenzyme, which is ubiquitously expressed in all cells and plays a crucial role in the redox regulation of numerous celluar signaling pathways involved in cell survival and proliferation. TrxR maintains cellular redox equilibrium. Recent researches have illuminated that TrxR overexpressed in many tumors, is closely associated with the evolution, progression and apoptosis of tumor. TrxR contains a reactive and solvent accessible selenocysteine residue which is located on a flexible C-terminal arm of the protein. This selenocysteine is essentially involved in the catalytic cycle of TrxR and thus represents an attractive binding site for inhibitors. The TrxR inhibitors as novel target-drug in cancer therapy have been extensively studied and elucidated. This article summarized the latest progress in TrxR inhibitors according to the binding capacity of TrxR and substrate.