(Z)-Pugnac

(Z)-Pugnac is an inhibitor of NCOAT (O-GlcNAcase), an enzyme which removes the N-acetylglucosamine moieties from 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranose (O-GlcNAc) bound to proteins that were modified by O-GlcNAc. In addition, studies show that (Z)-Pugnac is the more potent inhibitor of O-GlcNAcase than its stereoisomer since it readily undergoes Beckmann rearrangement. Furthermore, (Z)-Pugnac increases the modification of proteins by GlcNAc in adipocytes and decreases insulin-stimulated 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) uptake and GLUT4 translocation in adipocytes, which implies that (Z)-Pugnac promotes insulin resistance in adipocytes. (Z)-Pugnac is an inhibitor of HEXA and HEXB.