Editing Xenopus (section)

=== Small molecule screens to develop novel therapies ===

Because huge amounts of material are easily obtained, all modalities of ''Xenopus'' research are now being used for small-molecule based screens.

[[Chemical genetics]] of vascular growth in ''Xenopus'' tadpoles:  Given the important role of neovascularization in cancer progression, ''Xenopus'' embryos were recently used to identify new small molecules inhibitors of blood vessel growth.  Notably, compounds identified in ''Xenopus'' were effective in mice.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kälin RE, Bänziger-Tobler NE, Detmar M, Brändli AW | title = An in vivo chemical library screen in Xenopus tadpoles reveals novel pathways involved in angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis | journal = Blood | volume = 114 | issue = 5 | pages = 1110–1122 | date = July 2009 | pmid = 19478043 | pmc = 2721788 | doi = 10.1182/blood-2009-03-211771 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ny A, Koch M, Vandevelde W, Schneider M, Fischer C, Diez-Juan A, Neven E, Geudens I, Maity S, Moons L, Plaisance S, Lambrechts D, Carmeliet P, Dewerchin M | display-authors = 6 | title = Role of VEGF-D and VEGFR-3 in developmental lymphangiogenesis, a chemicogenetic study in Xenopus tadpoles | journal = Blood | volume = 112 | issue = 5 | pages = 1740–1749 | date = September 2008 | pmid = 18474726 | doi = 10.1182/blood-2007-08-106302 | s2cid = 14663578 | doi-access = free }}</ref>  Notably, frog embryos figured prominently in a study that used evolutionary principles to identify a novel vascular disrupting agent that may have chemotherapeutic potential.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cha HJ, Byrom M, Mead PE, Ellington AD, Wallingford JB, Marcotte EM | title = Evolutionarily repurposed networks reveal the well-known antifungal drug thiabendazole to be a novel vascular disrupting agent | journal = PLOS Biology | volume = 10 | issue = 8 | pages = e1001379 | date = 2012-01-01 | pmid = 22927795 | pmc = 3423972 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001379 | doi-access = free }}</ref>  That work was featured in the New York Times Science Times<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|title=Gene Tests in Yeast Aid Work on Cancer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/health/research/clues-to-fighting-cancer-are-found-in-the-genes-of-yeast.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2012-08-21| vauthors = Zimmer C }}</ref>

''In vivo'' testing of potential [[endocrine disruptors]] in transgenic ''Xenopus'' embryos; A high-throughput assay for thyroid disruption has recently been developed using transgenic ''Xenopus'' embryos.<ref name="renamed_from_29_on_20121012150200">{{cite journal | vauthors = Fini JB, Le Mevel S, Turque N, Palmier K, Zalko D, Cravedi JP, Demeneix BA | title = An in vivo multiwell-based fluorescent screen for monitoring vertebrate thyroid hormone disruption | journal = Environmental Science & Technology | volume = 41 | issue = 16 | pages = 5908–5914 | date = August 2007 | pmid = 17874805 | doi = 10.1021/es0704129 | bibcode = 2007EnST...41.5908F }}</ref>

Small molecule screens in ''Xenopus'' egg extracts:  Egg extracts provide ready analysis of molecular biological processes and can rapidly screened.  This approach was used to identify novel inhibitors of proteasome-mediated protein degradation and DNA repair enzymes.<ref name="pmid18176557">{{cite journal | vauthors = Dupré A, Boyer-Chatenet L, Sattler RM, Modi AP, Lee JH, Nicolette ML, Kopelovich L, Jasin M, Baer R, Paull TT, Gautier J | title = A forward chemical genetic screen reveals an inhibitor of the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex | journal = Nature Chemical Biology | volume = 4 | issue = 2 | pages = 119–25 | date = February 2008 | pmid = 18176557 | pmc = 3065498 | doi = 10.1038/nchembio.63 }}</ref><ref name="pmid19048618">{{cite journal | vauthors = Landais I, Sobeck A, Stone S, LaChapelle A, Hoatlin ME | title = A novel cell-free screen identifies a potent inhibitor of the Fanconi anemia pathway | journal = International Journal of Cancer | volume = 124 | issue = 4 | pages = 783–92 | date = February 2009 | pmid = 19048618 | doi = 10.1002/ijc.24039 | s2cid = 33589304 | doi-access = free }}</ref>