10 Jul 2018 --- Curcumin, a natural occurring chemical compound found in the spice turmeric, binds to the kinase enzyme dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2) at the atomic level, leading to inhibition of DYRK2 that impairs cell proliferation and reduces cancer burden, a research team from University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Peking University and Zhejiang University have found. The research team found this previously unreported biochemical interaction through x-ray crystallography and kinase-inhibitor specificity profiling. However, 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.
