Inhibition of the thioesterase activity of human fatty acid synthase by 1,4- and 9,10-diones.

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is the enzyme that synthesizes fatty acids de novo in human cells. Although FASN is generally expressed at low levels in most normal tissues, its expression is highly upregulated in many cancers. Consistent with this notion, inhibition of FASN activity has demonstrated potential to halt proliferation and induce cell death in vitro and to block tumor growth in vivo.