[BK21 Plus Seminar]

▶Subject: Identifying and targeting metabolite detoxifying enzymes as a means to selectively poison cancer cells

▶Speaker: Prof. Dohoon Kim (University of Massachusetts Medical School)

▶Date: 2:00PM/Sep. 12(Tue.)/2017

▶Place: Life Science Bldg. #104

▶Abctract
Cancer cells display various metabolic features that distinguish them from normal tissues and from other cancer types. However, it is unclear how to translate this knowledge into an effective therapeutic strategy. In particular, the majority of changes in metabolism and/or metabolic gene expression that are observed in a cancer are thought to play a secondary or ‘passenger’ role. We have been exploring a novel approach that can exploit changes in a cancer cell’s metabolism regardless of their role in carcinogenesis. Many metabolic pathway intermediates have toxic properties when allowed to accumulate but have no serious consequences because these transient molecules are short lived. Our strategy is to identify and target the crucial detoxification steps within metabolic pathways that are overactive in specific cancers, and thus we can poison these cancer cells via an accumulation of toxic metabolites that they have produced. I will discuss how we have enabled this approach by building a list of toxic metabolites that our cells are capable of producing, which we call the ‘endotoxome’, and cataloging the downstream enzymes which are responsible for detoxifying these toxic metabolites. Furthermore, I will demonstrate successful examples of how we have identified novel, cancer specific targets using this approach.

▶Inquiry: Prof. Park, Sang Ki (279-2349)

* This seminar will be given in English.
Please refrain from taking photos during seminars. *