Discovering Cancer Therapeutics Using a Novel Genomic Pathway-Based Drug Screen

ΔNp63 is a protein that is related to p53 and a member of the tumor suppressor protein family. It has been shown that Np63 is overexpressed in squamous cell carcinoma, and there is evidence that Np63 acts as an oncogene with respect to p53 transactivation. Our goal is to identify a natural compound that targets the Np63 pathway specifically and potentiates the prospect of developing a therapeutic against this pathway. To do this, we screened a Marine Invertebrate Compound Library using a genomic pathway-based drug screen approach, called “Screenome”. Effective natural marine fractions identified in the initial phase of the drug screen were run against 36 breast and 39 lung cancer cell lines. Preliminary data shows one of the effective marine fractions, derived from a Crella sponge, has its therapeutic effect correlated to the deregulation of the Np63 pathway. Currently, we are performing assays to ensure the compound’s specificity to the Np63 pathway.