Scientists with the UC Irvine School of Medicine and the Italian Institute of Technology have spotlighted what they call the "very first class" of acid ceramidase inhibitors that could eventually go on to help amp up the effectiveness of chemotherapies. The team, led by UC Irvine's Daniele Piomelli, began their work based on studies that showed the enzyme acid peramidase is upregulated in various cancers, including melanoma, lung and prostate cancers. The enzyme plays an important role in cell fate, according to work published in Angewandte Chemie, making AC inhibitors a potential drug class that could enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy in killing cancer cells. Story