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Tapping into TASP1

By Kai-Jye Lou, Staff Writer

Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and colleagues from other U.S. institutions have identified a potent small molecule inhibitor of taspase-1.1 The group now plans to use the small molecule as a scaffold to design drug-like inhibitors of the cancer-associated enzyme.

Taspase-1 (TASP1) is a protease linked to proliferation and apoptosis in multiple cancer types including glioblastoma and melanoma.2,3

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