Alcohol-abuse drug disulfiram targets cancer via p97 segregase adaptor NPL4

Zdenek Skrott, Martin Mistrik, Klaus Kaae Andersen, Søren Friis, Dusana Majera, Jan Gursky, Tomas Ozdian, Jirina Bartkova, Zsofia Turi, Pavel Moudry, Marianne Kraus, Martina Michalova, Jana Vaclavkova, Petr Dzubak, Ivo Vrobel, Pavla Pouckova, Jindrich Sedlacek, Andrea Miklovicova, Anne Kutt, Jing Li, Jana Mattova, Christoph Driessen, Q. Ping Dou, Jørgen Olsen, Marian Hajduch, Boris Cvek (), Raymond J. Deshaies () and Jiri Bartek ()
Additional contact information
Zdenek Skrott: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Martin Mistrik: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Klaus Kaae Andersen: Danish Cancer Society Research Center
Søren Friis: Danish Cancer Society Research Center
Dusana Majera: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Jan Gursky: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Tomas Ozdian: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Jirina Bartkova: Danish Cancer Society Research Center
Zsofia Turi: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Pavel Moudry: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Marianne Kraus: Kantonsspital St Gallen
Martina Michalova: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Jana Vaclavkova: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Petr Dzubak: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Ivo Vrobel: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Pavla Pouckova: Institute of Biophysics and Informatics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University
Jindrich Sedlacek: Palacky University
Andrea Miklovicova: Psychiatric Hospital
Anne Kutt: Danish Cancer Society Research Center
Jing Li: Caltech
Jana Mattova: Institute of Biophysics and Informatics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University
Christoph Driessen: Kantonsspital St Gallen
Q. Ping Dou: School of Medicine, Wayne State University
Jørgen Olsen: Danish Cancer Society Research Center
Marian Hajduch: Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University
Boris Cvek: Palacky University
Raymond J. Deshaies: Caltech
Jiri Bartek: Danish Cancer Society Research Center

Nature, 2017, vol. 552, issue 7684, 194-199

Abstract: Abstract Cancer incidence is rising and this global challenge is further exacerbated by tumour resistance to available medicines. A promising approach to meet the need for improved cancer treatment is drug repurposing. Here we highlight the potential for repurposing disulfiram (also known by the trade name Antabuse), an old alcohol-aversion drug that has been shown to be effective against diverse cancer types in preclinical studies. Our nationwide epidemiological study reveals that patients who continuously used disulfiram have a lower risk of death from cancer compared to those who stopped using the drug at their diagnosis. Moreover, we identify the ditiocarb–copper complex as the metabolite of disulfiram that is responsible for its anti-cancer effects, and provide methods to detect preferential accumulation of the complex in tumours and candidate biomarkers to analyse its effect on cells and tissues. Finally, our functional and biophysical analyses reveal the molecular target of disulfiram’s tumour-suppressing effects as NPL4, an adaptor of p97 (also known as VCP) segregase, which is essential for the turnover of proteins involved in multiple regulatory and stress-response pathways in cells.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/nature25016

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