Project name: Homo sapiens

Description: A unifying characteristic of aggressive cancers is a profound anabolic shift in metabolism to enable sustained proliferation and biomass expansion. The ribosome is centrally situated to sense metabolic states but whether it impacts systems that promote cellular survival is unknown. Here, through integrated chemical-genetic analyses, we find that a dominant transcriptional effect of blocking protein translation in cancer cells is complete inactivation of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), a multifaceted transcriptional regulator of the heat-shock response and many other cellular processes essential for tumorigenesis. Translational flux through the ribosome reshapes the transcriptional landscape and links the fundamental anabolic processes of protein production and energy metabolism with HSF1 activity. Targeting this link deprives cancer cells of their energy and chaperone armamentarium thereby rendering the malignant phenotype unsustainable.Gene Expression DataOverall design: We used microarrays to examine affect of rocaglates on gene expression in cancer cell lines. MCF7 breast cancer cells were treated with either 200 nM Rocaglamide A or DMSO, as a control. Two biological replicates for all samples.

Data type: Transcriptome or Gene expression

Sample scope: Multiisolate

Relevance: Medical

Last updated: 2013-04-08