Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Fission Yeast as a Platform for Antibacterial Drug Screens Targeting Bacterial Cytoskeleton Proteins
05:57

Fission Yeast as a Platform for Antibacterial Drug Screens Targeting Bacterial Cytoskeleton Proteins

Published on: April 26, 2024

A novel yeast cell-based screen identifies flavone as a tankyrase inhibitor

Yoko Yashiroda1, Reika Okamoto, Kaori Hatsugai

  • 1Chemical Genomics Research Group/Chemical Genetics Laboratory, RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan. ytyy@riken.jp

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
|March 11, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Researchers developed a novel yeast-based assay to screen for tankyrase 1 inhibitors, crucial for cancer therapy. This system successfully identified flavone as a potential inhibitor, paving the way for new drug discovery.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Yeast Genetics

Background:

  • Tankyrase 1, a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, is a key target in cancer therapy, particularly for BRCA-associated cancers.
  • Developing efficient screening systems for tankyrase 1 inhibitors is challenging due to difficulties in enzyme and substrate preparation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To establish a robust cell-based assay system for detecting inhibitory activity against tankyrase 1.
  • To facilitate high-throughput screening for potential tankyrase 1 inhibitors.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a model system.
  • Developed a growth restoration assay where compounds counteracting tankyrase 1 overexpression-induced growth defects were identified.
  • Performed high-throughput screening using robotics.

Main Results:

  • Overexpression of human tankyrase 1 gene induced a growth defect in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
  • Identified flavone as a compound that restored yeast cell growth.
  • Confirmed that flavone inhibits poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation mediated by tankyrase 1 in yeast cells.

Conclusions:

  • The developed yeast-based system provides an efficient method for identifying tankyrase 1 inhibitory activity.
  • This assay is amenable to high-throughput screening, accelerating the discovery of novel tankyrase 1 inhibitors for cancer therapy.

More Related Videos

Rapid Identification of Chemical Genetic Interactions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae12:13

Rapid Identification of Chemical Genetic Interactions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Published on: April 5, 2015

A Simple Fluorescence-based Reporter Assay to Identify Cellular Components Required for Ricin Toxin A Chain (RTA) Trafficking in Yeast09:03

A Simple Fluorescence-based Reporter Assay to Identify Cellular Components Required for Ricin Toxin A Chain (RTA) Trafficking in Yeast

Published on: December 15, 2017

Related Concept Videos

Yeast Signaling01:28

Yeast Signaling

Yeasts are single-celled organisms, but unlike bacteria, they are eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus). Cell signaling in yeast is similar to signaling in other eukaryotic cells. A ligand, such as a protein or a small molecule released from a yeast cell, attaches to a receptor on the cell surface. The binding stimulates second-messenger kinases to activate or inactivate transcription factors that further regulate gene expression. Many of the yeast intracellular signaling cascades have similar...
Antifungal Agents01:15

Antifungal Agents

Amphotericin B is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent that exploits structural differences between fungal and mammalian cell membranes. Its amphipathic structure—featuring a hydrophobic polyene-lactone ring and a hydrophilic region containing mycosamine and carboxylic acid groups—enables selective binding to ergosterol, a sterol predominantly found in fungal plasma membranes. This selective interaction underlies the drug’s antifungal activity, although weak binding to cholesterol contributes to...