[CAS NO. 170632-47-0]  Lificiguat (YC-1)

YC-1 is an allosteric activator of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC). YC-1 increases the catalytic rate of the enzyme and sensitizes the enzyme toward its gaseous activators nitric oxide or carbon monoxide. YC-1 alone activates the enzyme only 10-fold, but it potentiates the CO- and NO-dependent activation of sGC, resulting in stimulation of the highly purified enzyme that may be several hundred- to several thousand-fold . It inhibits platelet aggregation and vascular contraction and also inhibits HIF-1 activity in vitro. YC-1 completely blocks HIF-1α expression at the post-transcriptional level and consequently inhibits the transcription factor activity of HIF-1 in hepatoma cells cultured under hypoxic conditions, suggesting that these effects of YC-1 are likely to be linked with the oxygen-sensing pathway and not with the activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase.