Chymostatin

A highly specific chymotrypsin inhibitor produced by actinomycetes. It also has an anti-carcinogeneic property. It was found to supress the incidence of squamous cell carcinomas of the anal gland [1]. The mechanism by which this and other anti-carcinogenic protease inhibitors supress carcinogenesis is not fully understood. Presumably these agents inhibit one or more intracellular proteases whose functions are essential fro the induction and/or expression of the transformed pheotype.