Proteasome progress

Although animal studies have shown that proteasome inhibitors can prevent self-antigen and cytokine production and thus may have potential utility in autoimmune diseases, the toxicity of the drugs makes them unsuitable for such chronic conditions.¹ Researchers at Proteolix Inc. may have found a way around the problem with the discovery of PR-957, a small molecule that inhibits a subunit of the proteasome-LMP7-that is involved in immune cell activation.

Proteolix and academic colleagues have proof-of-concept data showing that the compound treated rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in mice.²...