Yeast Genome Screening and Methods for the Discovery of Metabolic Pathways Involved in a Phenotypic Response to Anticancer Agents

Abstract

The dramatic increase of cancer in the world drives the search for a new generation of drugs useful in effective and safe chemotherapy. In the postgenomic era the use of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a simple eukaryotic model is required in molecular studies of biological activity of compounds that may be potential drugs in the future. The phenotype analysis of numerous deletion mutants (from the EUROSCARF collection) allows one to define the specific influence of tested compound on metabolism, stress generation and response of eukaryotic cell to stress. Moreover, it allows one to determine cell viability, design of new drugs and doses used in preclinical and clinical trials. Undoubtedly, this is also a good way to save the lives of many laboratory animals. Here we present a simple and cheap new approach to study the metabolic and stress response pathways in eukaryotic cells involved in the response to tested compounds (e.g., anticancer agents). The precise determination of biological activity mechanisms of tested compounds at the molecular level can contribute to the fast introduction of new cancer therapies, which is extremely important nowadays.