IMP-1088 is an

enzyme inhibitor An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to an enzyme and blocks its activity. Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions necessary for life, in which substrate molecules are converted into products. An enzyme facilitates a sp ...

of the human N-myristoyltransferases NMT1 and

NMT2 Glycylpeptide N-tetradecanoyltransferase 2 known also as N-myristoyltransferase, is an enzyme (EC: 2.3.1.97) that in humans is encoded by the ''NMT2'' gene. Function N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) catalyzes the reaction of N-terminal myristoy ...

capable of preventing rhinoviral replication, an area of research relating to potential treatment of the

common cold The common cold or the cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract that primarily affects the respiratory mucosa of the nose, throat, sinuses, and larynx. Signs and symptoms may appear fewer than two days after exposu ...

. IMP-1088 works to keep cells from generating infectious virus by targeting the cell instead of the rhinovirus itself. It does this by blocking the NMT protein of the host cell which prevents the virus from assembling its capsid, since viral capsid myristoylation by host NMT is essential for assembly. It is thought unlikely that viruses will evolve resistance to such an approach since IMP-1088 works against the human cell and not the virus.

References

{{reflist Enzyme inhibitors Indazoles Pyrazoles Fluoroarenes Biphenyls Dimethylamino compounds