Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42766653›Full record

ArticlePLoS biology2026

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has a cationic amphiphilic drug (CAD) defense system.

Levon Tokmakjian, Duhyun Han, Kateryna Sihuta, Aanchal Aggarwal, Somayeh Pirhadi, Yao Wang, Andrew R Burns, Brittany Cooke, Siyue Ren, Marios Gavrielatos and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Levon TokmakjianDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Duhyun HanDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Kateryna SihutaThe Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Aanchal AggarwalThe Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Somayeh PirhadiDepartment of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Yao WangDepartment of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Andrew R BurnsThe Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Brittany CookeThe Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Siyue RenDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Marios GavrielatosDepartment of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6052-5517
Jiabao LiuThe Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5440-1841
Henry M KrauseThe Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6182-7074
Carolyn L CumminsDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Justin NodwellDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
David R KoesDepartment of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Peter J RoyDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2959-2276

Funding

Enhancing and expanding the CGC Strain CollectionP40OD010440 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI Aric L Daul, Ann E. Rougvie · 2012 to 2026
$7.5M
New Methods and Tools for Computational Drug Discovery: Diversity SupplementR35GM140753 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI KOES, DAVID RYAN · 2021 to 2025
$2.2M
NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM140753NIH HHS P40 OD010440
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cationic Amphiphilic Drugs (CADs) severely disrupt lysosomal function, which leads to a cellular pathology in humans characterized by excess phospholipids called phospholipidosis. Through a forward genetic screen and mining of published datasets, we discovered that CADs induce the expression of the CYP-35B family of cytochrome P450s and the PGP-13 p-glycoprotein pump via the nuclear receptors NHR-70 and NHR-107 in the nematode C. elegans. A pgp-13 fluorescent reporter revealed hundreds of human drugs that up-regulate the CAD defense system in vivo. Chemoinformatic analyses indicate that the pgp-13 reporter may be useful in identifying CADs that have pathogenic potential in humans. Mutant analyses coupled to metabolomics and structural modeling show that the CYP-35Bs are necessary and sufficient for CAD metabolism, and that CYP-35B2 D311 is key in mediating electrostatic interactions with the positively charged CADs. We also show that CAD metabolites are effluxed via PGP-13 acting partially redundantly with PGP-14 and that an intact defense system is necessary to resist CAD-induced pathology. Finally, we demonstrate that bacteria that likely cohabitate with C. elegans in nature trigger the CAD defense system, providing a plausible explanation for why a pathway that protects against anthropogenic small molecules exists in nematodes.

Indexed as

Caenorhabditis elegansAnimalsCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsCationsCytochrome P-450 Enzyme SystemHumansReceptors, Cytoplasmic and NuclearCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsCationsCytochrome P-450 Enzyme SystemReceptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear

Identifiers

PMID42766653
PMCPMC13619054

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.