Alethine (β-Alethine) is a small molecule compound with antitumour activity and is used to treat tumours and infections. The alethine-induced up-regulation of TNFα increases the cytotoxicity of T cells.

Alethine (Beta-alethine) (10 ng/ml) (a) adapts murine liver cells to culture (53 colonies/10(6) cells versus none in controls), (b) delays aging of human IMR-90 fetal lung fibroblasts (102 population doubling levels versus 47 in controls, producing 3 x 10(16) greater biomass), and (c) markedly stimulates antibody-producing plaque-forming cells from murine splenocytes (16,875/10(6) cells versus 55/10(6) cells in controls) or human peripheral blood leukocytes (1826/10(6) cells versus 0/10(6) cells in controls).[1]

Alethine (beta-alethine) (1 ng/kg to 100 micrograms/kg) successfully treat NS-1 myeloma in a syngeneic murine tumor model (NS-1 myeloma) when early interventions . Although there are indications in this model that beta-alethine is also effective when intervention is late, beta-alethine is ineffective in an allogeneic murine melanoma model (Cloudman S-91 melanoma).[1]