Ethaselen (BBSKE) is an orally active, selective thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) inhibitor with IC50s of 0.5 and 0.35 μM for the wild-type human TrxR1 and rat TrxR1, respectively. Ethaselen specifically binds to the unique selenocysteine-cysteine redox pair in the C-terminal active site of mammalian TrxR1. Ethaselen, an organoselenium compound, is a potent antitumor candidate that exerts potent inhibition on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by targeting TrxR.
