The protein arginine deiminases (PADs) are a family of enzymes that catalyze the post-translational hydrolytic deimination of arginine residues. Four different enzymologically active PAD subtypes have been characterized and exhibit tissue-specific expression and association with a number of different diseases. In this Article we describe the development of an approach for the reliable discovery of low-molecular weight, nonpeptidic fragment substrates of the PADs that then can be optimized and converted to mechanism-based irreversible PAD inhibitors. The approach is demonstrated by the development of the first potent and selective inhibitors of PAD3, a PAD subtype implicated in the neurodegenerative response to spinal cord injury. Multiple structurally distinct inhibitors were identified with the most potent inhibitors having >10,000 min−1 M−1
kinact/KI values and ≥10-fold selectivity for PAD3 over PADs 1, 2, and 4.