TDFA (trifluoroacetate salt)

General Description

TDFA trifluoroacetate salt or tripeptide F-amidine analog is a derivative synthesized to increase the selectivity, bioavailability and potency of Cl-amidine, which is a member of protein arginine deiminases (PADs) compounds.

Biochem/physiol Actions

TDFA (Thr-Asp-F-amidine) is a selective inhibitor of peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (protein arginine deiminase 4, PAD4 or PADI4), a transcriptional coregulator that catalyzes the calcium-dependent conversion of specific arginine residues in proteins to citrulline, a process called citrullination. PAD4 is upregulated in cancer and inflammatory diseases, and may be involved in rheumatoid arthritis onset and progression. It has recently been found to be involved in the regulation of pluripotency: important for stem-cell gene activation, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell reprogramming, and maintenance of pluripotent cells in the early mouse embryo. TDFA has an IC50 value of 2.3 μM and is ≥15-fold selective for PAD4 versus PAD1 and ≥50-fold selective versus PADs 2 and 3.