Designing modulators of dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH): a focus on selectivity over arginase.

DDAH inhibition presents a novel promising pharmaceutical strategy to lower NO formation. To date, several potent DDAH inhibitors have been published, most of them representing analogues of l-arginine. While inhibitory effects on NOSs have already been considered, selectivity over arginase has been neglected so far.