H2S Donors and Their Use in Medicinal Chemistry

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a ubiquitous gaseous signaling molecule that has an important role in many physiological and pathological processes in mammalian tissues, with the same importance as two others endogenous gasotransmitters such as NO (nitric oxide) and CO (carbon monoxide). Endogenous H₂S is involved in a broad gamut of processes in mammalian tissues including inflammation, vascular tone, hypertension, gastric mucosal integrity, neuromodulation, and defense mechanisms against viral infections as well as SARS-CoV-2 infection. These results suggest that the modulation of H₂S levels has a potential therapeutic value. Consequently, synthetic H₂S-releasing agents represent not only important research tools, but also potent therapeutic agents. This review has been designed in order to summarize the currently available H₂S donors; furthermore, herein we discuss their preparation, the H₂S-releasing mechanisms, and their -biological applications.

Keywords: H2S release; hydrogen sulfide; medicinal chemistry; natural H2S donors; synthetic H2S donors.