Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) converts nicotinamide into nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), which is subsequently converted to NAD+ by NMN adenyltransferase. Cancer cells commonly have an unusually high rate of NAD+ turnover, suggesting that inhibition of Nampt might selectively target cancer cells. GPP 78 is a potent inhibitor of Nampt (IC50 = 3 nM). It induces cell death in the neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y with an IC50 value of 3.8 nM through a process that appears to involve autophagy.
