Project information
Drug repurposing for the therapy of MYC-driven pediatric tumors via mitochondrial synthetic lethality

Information

This project doesn't include Faculty of Science. It includes Faculty of Medicine. Official project website can be found on muni.cz.
Project Identification
NW26-07-00021
Project Period
1/2026 - 12/2029
Investor / Pogramme / Project type
Ministry of Health of the CR
MU Faculty or unit
Faculty of Medicine
Cooperating Organization
St. Anne's University Hospital Brno

MYC-driven pediatric tumors, such as high-risk neuroblastoma (NB) and group 3 medulloblastoma (G3MB), represent some of the most aggressive and therapy-resistant cancers. To date, only one direct MYC inhibitor has passed a phase I trial, yet its safety and therapeutic potential in pediatric oncology remain unclear. Our findings show that mitochondrial stress-inducing drugs, including common antibiotics, can indirectly suppress MYC proteins and trigger MYC-dependent cell death in multidrug-resistant NB via mitochondrial integrated stress response (mitoISR). This project aims to leverage the identified mitochondrial synthetic lethality as a selective therapeutic approach for tumors dependent on high levels of MYC proteins. Using NB as proof of concept, we will apply our novel cumate-inducible MYC/MYCN models for the first-in-field uncompromised screening for MYC-synthetic lethal drugs in a custom FDA-approved drug library, rationally enriched with ribosomal antibiotics and mitochondrial stressors. Hits will be validated in MYC-driven NB, G3MB, and Burkitt lymphoma cell lines and characterized for mitochondrial selectivity, including luciferase assays in cell-free translation and mitoISR reporter systems. The efficiency of key candidates will be further tested in spheroid cultures and in vivo using a zebrafish model of MYCN-driven NB. To facilitate repurposing for pediatric tumors, potent MYC-synthetic lethal drugs will be prioritized based on known safety profiles, and their therapeutic potential will be assessed in highly relevant preclinical models accessed via multicentric international collaboration: (i) in vitro, in a panel of primary patient-derived cell lines from relapsed/refractory tumors, (ii) in vivo, in zebrafish xenograft and patient-derived xenograft models. This translational research project is designed to deliver robust data that could pave the way for clinical trials of well-tolerated drugs repurposed to treat resistant MYC-driven pediatric tumors.

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