University Study Looks to Thiazole Antibiotics to Target Cancer

Scientists continue to unravel a new discovery surrounding a recently approved class of antibiotics and its effect on cancer.

As per the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, thiazole antibiotics seem to block one of the most overproduced proteins in cancer cells – FoxM1. The cellular protein is thought to play a key role in cells transitioning to cancerous.

The University’s research has also shed light on thiazole’s ability to inhibit proteasome, a cellular molecular complex that discards old proteins that are to be exterminated. Various proteasome inhibitors have shown the potential against cancerous cells. In particular, bortezomib has proven to be helpful against the treatment of myeloma and particular forms of lymphoma.

The research suggests thiazole as a future tool against the cancer battle. Author Andrei Gartel, an associate professor of molecular genetics stated in the university news release that using thiazole antibiotics along with well-known proteasome inhibitors, “We may see a synergy that allows us to markedly reduce the dose of any one of these drugs and still effectively kill the cancer cells.”