NF-κB Inhibitors for the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases and Cancer

The NF-κB/Rel signaling system is a paradigm for gene activation in response to inflammatory and menacing stimuli. Given the growing body of evidence showing an important involvement of NF-κB for the onset of autoimmune diseases and different types of cancer, NF-κB is an important drug target for the adjuvant therapy of these diseases. Great efforts have been made for the development of highly specific NF-κB inhibitors, some of them being currently tested in phase II clinical trials. Here we discuss recent progress in the identification of druggable components of the NF- κB signaling system and the development and potential use of novel NF-κB inhibitors.