Bioinformatic and experimental fishing for artemisinin-interacting proteins from human nasopharyngeal cancer cells†
T. Eichhorn,S. Schloissnig,B. Hahn,A. Wendler,Rolf Mertens,W. D. Lehmann,R. L. Krauth-Siegel,T. Efferth
Molecular BioSystems Pub Date : 02/06/2012 00:00:00 , DOI:10.1039/C2MB05437J
Abstract

Determining interacting cellular partners of drugs by chemical proteomic techniques is complex and tedious. Most approaches rely on activity-based probe profiling and compound-centric chemical proteomics. The anti-malarial artemisinin also exerts profound anti-cancer activity, but the mechanisms of action are incompletely understood. In the present investigation, we present a novel approach to identify artemisinin-interacting target proteins. Our approach overcomes usual problems in traditional fishing procedures, because the drug was attached to a surface without further chemical modification. The proteins identified effect among others, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis, disruption of cell migration, and modulation of nuclear receptor responsiveness. Furthermore, a bioinformatic approach confirmed experimentally identified proteins and suggested a large number of other interacting proteins. Theoretically predicted interaction partners may serve as a starting point to complete the whole set of proteins binding artemisinin.

Graphical abstract: Bioinformatic and experimental fishing for artemisinin-interacting proteins from human nasopharyngeal cancer cells