Protease inhibitors are drugs that work by inhibiting the activity of protein hydrolyzing enzymes, and include two main classes, those that treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, such as nelfinavir and saquinavir, and those that are biological protease inhibitors. Different types of drugs have different effects.
1. Drugs for HIV infection: mainly include nelfinavir, saquinavir, indinavir and so on. These drugs can bind to the catalytic gene of viral protease and inhibit the enzyme activity, so that the protein precursor can not be cleaved and mature viral body can not be formed, so as to inhibit the replication of HIV and control the progress of the disease. However, it will cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other adverse reactions.
2. Biological protease inhibitors: mainly include chymotrypsin and so on. These drugs are mainly isolated from the fermentation broth of actinomycetes and can inhibit the development of various proteases, such as chymotrypsin, elastase and pepsin. But there is a possibility of increasing the risk of myocardial infarction.
Patients should choose the appropriate drug according to the specific condition under the guidance of the doctor, and at the same time pay attention to the observation of their own physical condition. Once abnormalities occur, the medication should be stopped and medical examination should be sought.