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INTEGRATED CHEMPROTEOMICS AND CHEMINFORMATICS-DRIVEN CANCER DRUG DISCOVERY IN THE POST-GENOME ERA: FROM NATURAL PRODUCTS TO REPURPOSED DRUGS
Motoki Watanabe1; Shogen Boku2; Erika Iguchi1; Kaito Kobayashi3; Tomoshi Kameda3
1Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan; 2Kansai Medical University Hospital, Hirakata, Japan; 3National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan

PAPER: 325/Oxidative/Plenary (Oral) OS
SCHEDULED: 15:05/Wed. 19 Nov. 2025/Dusit 2

ABSTRACT:

Genomics-driven strategies leveraging next-generation sequencing have long dominated the “hunt” for oncogenic drivers. Yet in real-world cancer biology, malignant phenotypes often arise not from mutations alone, but from aberrant protein expression, dysregulated activity, and abnormal subcellular localization, which are often invisible to genomics alone [1]. To address these blind spots, we have established a platform that integrates chemoproteomics with cheminformatics to “fish” unconventional cancer-related proteins together with potent inhibitors among existing drugs. Our approach involves two key steps: (i) chemoproteomics to identify binding proteins of bioactive natural compounds with antitumor effects, and (ii) cheminformatics, using molecular dynamics simulations, to screen for repurposed drugs targeting those proteins. This strategy yields unique druggable targets and inhibitors that cannot be readily uncovered by a conventional genomics-driven approach. Here, using sesaminol [2] from sesame and perillyl alcohol [3] from perilla as chemical probes, we present two successful cases in which we identified unique target proteins: (1) ribosomal protein S5 (RPS5) as a mediator of resistance to MEK inhibitor-induced cell death in KRAS-mutant cancers [4], and (2) adenine nucleotide translocase 2 (ANT2) as a critical target in endocrine-resistant estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Notably, we also discovered candidate compounds that could be used as effective inhibitors against RPS5 or ANT2. Thus, our chemoproteoinformatics approach, focusing on “Not Driver, but Targetable” proteins, opens a new avenue for target and drug discovery in the post-genome era.

REFERENCES:
[1] L. K. Ferrarelli, N. R. Gough. Focus Issue: Cancer-Beyond tumor genetics to protein landscapes. Sci Signal. 10(470):eaan0430.2017.
[2] M. Watanabe, Y. Iizumi, M. Sukeno, M. Iizuka-Ohashi, Y. Sowa, T. Sakai. The pleiotropic regulation of cyclin D1 by newly identified sesaminol-binding protein ANT2. Oncogenesis. 6(4):e311.2017.
[3] A. O. Durço, L. S. R. Conceição, D. S. de Souza, C. A. Lima, J. de S. S. Quintans, M. R. V. dos Santos. Perillyl alcohol as a treatment for cancer: A systematic review. Phytomedicine Plus. 1(3):100090.2021.
[4] M. Watanabe, S. Boku, K. Kobayashi, Y. Kurumida, M. Sukeno, M. Masuda, K. Mizushima, C. Kato, Y. Iizumi, K. Hirota, Y. Naito, M. Mutoh, T. Kameda, T. Sakai. A chemoproteoinformatics approach demonstrates that aspirin increases sensitivity to MEK inhibition by directly binding to RPS5. PNAS Nexus.1(2):pgac059.2022.