Systematic identification of anticancer drug targets reveals a nucleus-to-mitochondria ROS-sensing pathway.

Cell
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Keywords
Abstract

Multiple anticancer drugs have been proposed to cause cell death, in part, by increasing the steady-state levels of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, for most of these drugs, exactly how the resultant ROS function and are sensed is poorly understood. It remains unclear which proteins the ROS modify and their roles in drug sensitivity/resistance. To answer these questions, we examined 11 anticancer drugs with an integrated proteogenomic approach identifying not only many unique targets but also shared ones-including ribosomal components, suggesting common mechanisms by which drugs regulate translation. We focus on CHK1 that we find is a nuclear HO sensor that launches a cellular program to dampen ROS. CHK1 phosphorylates the mitochondrial DNA-binding protein SSBP1 to prevent its mitochondrial localization, which in turn decreases nuclear HO. Our results reveal a druggable nucleus-to-mitochondria ROS-sensing pathway-required to resolve nuclear HO accumulation and mediate resistance to platinum-based agents in ovarian cancers.

Year of Publication
2023
Journal
Cell
Volume
186
Issue
11
Pages
2361-2379.e25
Date Published
05/2023
ISSN
1097-4172
DOI
10.1016/j.cell.2023.04.026
PubMed ID
37192619
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