Discovery of green tea polyphenol-based proteasome inhibitors — A successful collaboration with Tak-Hang (Bill) Chan

This article is written to commemorate the contributions of Professor Tak-Hang (Bill) Chan to the field of chemistry and his collaborative efforts that have lead to insights pertaining to cancer cell biology and the development of potential cancer therapeutic agents. This article reviews the chronological scientific findings that evolved from a partnership between Bill Chan and Q. Ping Dou, spanning more than 10 years. While many compounds have been chemically synthesized by the Chan group and biologically scrutinized by the Dou group, the outcomes presented here will focus on green tea polyphenols as tumor proteasome inhibitors and anticancer agents. Furthermore, the biochemical alterations that increase or decrease the therapeutic potential of the polyphenol compounds in human cancer cells will also be discussed.