Anticancer Activity
Researchers are investigating whether protease inhibitors could possibly be used to treat cancer. For example, nelfinavir and atazanavir are able to kill tumor cells in culture (in a Petri dish). This effect has not yet been examined in humans; but studies in laboratory mice have shown that nelfinavir is able to suppress the growth of tumors in these animals, which represents a promising lead towards testing this drug in humans as well.
Inhibitors of the proteasome, such as Velcade/Bortezomib are now front-line drugs for the treatment of various cancers, notably Multiple Myeloma.
Read more about this topic: Protease Inhibitor (pharmacology)
Famous quotes containing the word activity:
“... the will always wills to do something and thus implicitly holds in contempt sheer thinking, whose whole activity depends on “doing nothing.””
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)