Purely Proteasome

The tumor suppressor cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B has the characteristics of a good cancer target-it often malfunctions in tumors, and high levels of it correlate with improved patient prognosis. With that in mind, researchers at Hannover Medical School have been hunting for a molecule that increases the tumor suppressor's levels. In a paper in Cancer Cell, the group reported on argyrin A, a proteasome inhibitor that modulates the target and could have comparable efficacy and potentially better safety than the marketed proteasome inhibitor Velcade bortezomib.

One caveat is that increasing levels of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (p27^Kip1) has the potential to actually increase cell proliferation...