Ubiquitin-Proteasome Degradation Pathway

 In a review completed by Yang et al. (2012) the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation pathway is discussed as a powerful and natural sensitizer for chemotherapy and radiotherapy.   The conjugating system of the ubiquitin pathway acts as a cascade that controls cellular protein degradation.  Utilizing proteasome inhibitors has demonstrated inhibition of the cell cycle by preventing proteolysis of cyclin-dependent kinases and tumor suppressing proteins.  Bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor, has been extensively studied and demonstrated inhibition of the NF-kB pathway in solid and hematological cancers.  Green tea polyphenols also appear to be potent proteasome inhibitors, which activate and stabilize tumor suppressor genes.

Yang, H., Landis-Piwowar, K. R., Chen, D., Milacic, V., & Dou, Q. P. (2008). Natural compounds with proteasome inhibitory activity for cancer prevention and treatment. Current Protein & Peptide Science, 9(3), 227–239.