A quantitative chemical proteomics approach to profile the specific cellular targets of andrographolide, a promising anticancer agent that suppresses tumor metastasis

Mol Cell Proteomics. 2014 Mar;13(3):876-86. doi: 10.1074/mcp.M113.029793. Epub 2014 Jan 20.

Abstract

Drug target identification is a critical step toward understanding the mechanism of action of a drug, which can help one improve the drug's current therapeutic regime and expand the drug's therapeutic potential. However, current in vitro affinity-chromatography-based and in vivo activity-based protein profiling approaches generally face difficulties in discriminating specific drug targets from nonspecific ones. Here we describe a novel approach combining isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation with clickable activity-based protein profiling to specifically and comprehensively identify the protein targets of andrographolide (Andro), a natural product with known anti-inflammation and anti-cancer effects, in live cancer cells. We identified a spectrum of specific targets of Andro, which furthered our understanding of the mechanism of action of the drug. Our findings, validated through cell migration and invasion assays, showed that Andro has a potential novel application as a tumor metastasis inhibitor. Moreover, we have unveiled the target binding mechanism of Andro with a combination of drug analog synthesis, protein engineering, and mass-spectrometry-based approaches and determined the drug-binding sites of two protein targets, NF-κB and actin.

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement / drug effects
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Cysteine / metabolism
  • Diterpenes / chemical synthesis
  • Diterpenes / chemistry
  • Diterpenes / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Molecular Probes / chemical synthesis
  • Molecular Probes / chemistry
  • NF-kappa B / metabolism
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness
  • Neoplasm Metastasis / drug therapy*
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Proteome / metabolism
  • Proteomics / methods*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Diterpenes
  • Molecular Probes
  • NF-kappa B
  • Proteome
  • andrographolide
  • Cysteine