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Technical University of Munich

In search of the perfect match in precision oncology - Innovative technology sets new standard in drug discovery

Research |

Proteins, also known as protein, are important players in the body: they control and regulate virtually all of its functions. Altered protein structures in cells lead to serious diseases, such as cancer. That is why almost all medical agents act on proteins. In drug research, therefore, they are the focus of attention. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have used a new technology to systematically investigate the molecular mode of action of drugs on cancer cells. Since protein changes can be different in every patient, the goal is to find the ideal active ingredient for each individual tumor, the perfect match in cancer therapy, so to speak. A decisive advance has now been made.
Prof. Bernhard Küster, Professor for Proteomics and Bioanalytics, with two scientists in his lab (image: TUM/Heddergott).
The systematic study of cancer drugs, biological model systems and tumors helps TUM researchers find the right drug for the right patient at the right time (image: Bernhard Heinzmeir)

Research into active substances that act on the body in a personalized and targeted manner is gathering pace. An interdisciplinary team led by Bernhard Küster, Professor of Proteomics and Bioanalytics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has now made a decisive advance in the characterization of these active substances.

By developing a new technology, the team of natural scientists and physicians has succeeded in breaking down the interactions of active substances with hundreds of molecular processes in body cells with dose accuracy. To do this, the team uses a method that is capable of simultaneously determining thousands of proteins and their pathological modifications in a biological system and directly measuring the effect of drugs on them. The studies showed that many cancer drugs have a broader spectrum of activity than previously known. The new technology thus creates a kind of fingerprint for each active ingredient.

"Each tumor disease also has its own fingerprint of altered protein levels or activities, so even cancers that are identical by name are often individually different at the molecular level," Küster explains. "Now the challenge is to precisely analyze the fingerprints of the approximately 200 cancer drugs on the market in order to estimate their effect on the individual molecular tumor signature," says Dr. Jana Zecha, who was involved in developing the technology. This would allow existing cancer drugs to be reused in other forms of cancer via a previously undiscovered spectrum of activity. The new technology will significantly improve the search for such a "perfect match" and set a new standard in drug discovery. The technology is currently being tested in molecular tumor boards with the aim of recommending the perfect cancer therapy for each individual patient.

Publication: 
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade3925

Scientific Contact: 
Prof. Bernhard Küster
Chair of Proteomics and Bioanalytics
kuster(at)tum.de

Editing: 
Susanne Neumann
TUM School of Life Sciences
Press and Public Relations

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