1-Hydroxy-3-(methylpentylamino)-propylidene-1,1-bisphosphonic acid as a potent inhibitor of squalene synthase.
Dilip Amin, Susan A. Cornell, Mark H. Perrone, Glenda Elaine Bilder · PubMed · 1996
Squalene synthase, the first committed enzyme for sterol synthesis, converts farnesyl pyrophosphate to squalene with presqualene pyrophosphate as an intermediate. It was discovered that BM 21.0955 (1-hydroxy-3-(methylpentylamino)-propylidene-1,1-bisphosphon ic acid), in development for the treatment of bone disorders, inhibited rat liver microsomal squalene synthase (K(i) = nmol/l). BM 21.0955 also inhibited sterol biosynthesis from mevalonate (IC50 = 42 nmol/l), and cholesterol biosynthesis in J774 cells (IC50 = mumol/l). Structural modifications on this molecule to make it more lipophilic may result in a new class of cholesterol-lowering agents.