Halofuginone
Chemical compound
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Halofuginone, sold under the brand name Halocur, is a coccidiostat used in veterinary medicine. It is a synthetic halogenated derivative of febrifugine, a natural quinazolinone alkaloid which can be found in the Chinese herb Dichroa febrifuga (Chang Shan).[3] Collgard Biopharmaceuticals is developing halofuginone for the treatment of scleroderma and it has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.[4]
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| Trade names | Halocur |
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| Formula | C16H17BrClN3O3 |
| Molar mass | 414.68 g·mol−1 |
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EPRS1 acts, in human cells, as a proviral factor in mammarenaviruses infection, including LCMV, JUNV, and LASV, and its inhibition using halofuginon compound, a prolyl domain inhibitor, completely abolishes the viral infection by interrupting viral assembly and budding.[5]
Halofuginone inhibits the development of T helper 17 cells, immune cells that play an important role in autoimmune disease, but it does not affect other kinds of T cells which are involved in normal immune function.[6] Halofuginone therefore has potential for the treatment of autoimmune disorders.[6]
Halofuginone is also an inhibitor of collagen type I gene expression and as a consequence it may inhibit tumor cell growth.[7] Halofuginone exerts its effects by acting as a high affinity inhibitor of the enzyme glutamyl-prolyl tRNA synthetase. Inhibition of prolyl tRNA charging leads to the accumulation of uncharged prolyl tRNAs, which serve as a signal to initiate the amino acid starvation response, which in turn exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects.[7]
