Research progress on the inhibition of enzymes by polyoxometalates

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are a kind of inorganic cluster metal complex with various biological activities, such as anti-Alzheimer's disease, antibacterial, anti-cancer, anti-diabetes, anti-virus, and so on. The mechanism of their action at the molecular level is basically unknown. However, some studies have shown that the inhibitory effect of POMs on several enzyme families (such as alpha-glucosidase, tyrosinase, protein kinase or exonuclease) may be related to the pharmacological properties of POMs. In addition, POMs also inhibited sialyltransferase, thiotransferase, deacetylase and virus reverse enzyme to different degrees. Combining the results of research groups, it was found the structure and composition of POMs may indirectly affect their inhibition ability. Therefore, this paper reviews the inhibitory effects of POMs on various enzymes in order to contribute to the application of polyoxometalates in biomedicine.