Crystal Structure Reveals How Curcumin Impairs Cancer

Source: UC San Diego Health

Through x-ray crystallography and kinase-inhibitor specificity profiling, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with researchers at Peking University and Zhejiang University, reveal that curcumin, a naturally occurring chemical compound found in the spice turmeric, binds to the kinase enzyme dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2) at the atomic level. This previously unreported biochemical interaction of curcumin leads to inhibition of DYRK2 that impairs cell proliferation and reduces the cancer burden.
But before turning to curcumin or turmeric supplements, Sourav Banerjee, Ph.D., UC San Diego School of Medicine postdoctoral scholar, cautions that curcumin alone may not be the answer.

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