| abstract |
The present invention is directed to agmatine and polyamine analogs and their use as drugs, as well as agricultural or environmentally useful agents. As drugs, the analogs decrease cellular polyamine levels, possibly by inducing antizyme, and can be used to treat disorders of undesired cell proliferation, including cancer, viral infections and bacterial infections. The analogs may be utilized in pharmaceutical compositions either alone or in combination with other agents, particularly other inhibitors of polyamine synthesis or transport, but including other inhibitors of cell proliferation. The analogs are not necessarily metabolized to contribute to the polyamine pool and are designed to enter cells by pathways independent of polyamine transport. The invention further defines structural elements/motifs within these analogs that are key to their induction of antizyme. |