Cancer Drug Development Using Drosophila as an in vivo Tool: From Bedside to Bench and Back.
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been used for modeling cancer and as an in vivo tool for the validation and/or development of cancer therapeutics. The impetus for the use of Drosophila in cancer research stems from the high conservation of its signaling pathways, lower genetic redundancy, short life cycle, genetic amenability, and ease of maintenance. Several cell signaling pathways in Drosophila have been used for cancer drug development. The efficacy of combination therapy and uptake/bioavailability of drugs have also been studied. Drosophila has been validated using several FDA-approved drugs, suggesting a potential application of this model in drug repurposing. The model is emerging as a powerful tool for high-throughput screening and should significantly reduce the cost and time associated with drug development. In this review we discuss the applications of Drosophila in cancer drug development. The advantages and limitations of the model are discussed.
Cancer and Neurobiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India.
Amarish Kumar
AK
Yadav
Cancer and Neurobiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India. Electronic address: skrishna@bhu.ac.in.
Saripella
S
Srikrishna
Laboratory for Translational Cancer Research, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India. Electronic address: sgupta@bhu.ac.in.
Subash Chandra
SC
Gupta
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / Q000379:methods*; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
Drosophila; FDA-approved drugs; bioavailability; cancer therapeutics; high-throughput screening; signaling pathways