Abstract
Numerous solid tumors and hematologic malignancies acquire resistance to apoptosis-inducing chemotherapeutic drugs by downregulating the key effector caspase-3. These cells rely on caspase-7 to execute the apoptotic program, yet binding with XIAP constitutively inhibits active caspase-7 (p19/p12-CASP7). In this issue, Lin et al. describe how a newly synthesized drug is able to disrupt the XIAP:p19/p12-CASP7 complex and induce apoptosis in caspase-3-deficient cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. As this compound appears to exhibit minimal toxicity on normal tissues, it may represent a promising therapeutic agent to help treat caspase-3-deficient tumors.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 3706-3708 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Journal of Clinical Investigation |
Volume | 123 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs |
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State | Published - Sep 3 2013 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)