scholarly journals Pharmacologic induction of innate immune signaling directly drives homologous recombination deficiency

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (30) ◽  
pp. 17785-17795
Author(s):  
Lena J. McLaughlin ◽  
Lora Stojanovic ◽  
Aksinija A. Kogan ◽  
Julia L. Rutherford ◽  
Eun Yong Choi ◽  
...  

Poly(ADP ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) have efficacy in triple negative breast (TNBC) and ovarian cancers (OCs) harboring BRCA mutations, generating homologous recombination deficiencies (HRDs). DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTi) increase PARP trapping and reprogram the DNA damage response to generate HRD, sensitizing BRCA-proficient cancers to PARPi. We now define the mechanisms through which HRD is induced in BRCA-proficient TNBC and OC. DNMTi in combination with PARPi up-regulate broad innate immune and inflammasome-like signaling events, driven in part by stimulator of interferon genes (STING), to unexpectedly directly generate HRD. This inverse relationship between inflammation and DNA repair is critical, not only for the induced phenotype, but also appears as a widespread occurrence in The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets and cancer subtypes. These discerned interactions between inflammation signaling and DNA repair mechanisms now elucidate how epigenetic therapy enhances PARPi efficacy in the setting of BRCA-proficient cancer. This paradigm will be tested in a phase I/II TNBC clinical trial.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Principe ◽  
Matthew Narbutis ◽  
Regina Koch ◽  
Ajay Rana

AbstractPARP inhibitors have shown remarkable efficacy in the clinical management of several BRCA-mutated tumors. This approach is based on the long-standing hypothesis that PARP inhibition will impair the repair of single stranded breaks, causing synthetic lethality in tumors with loss of high-fidelity double-strand break homologous recombination. While this is now well accepted and has been the basis of several successful clinical trials, emerging evidence strongly suggests that mutation to several additional genes involved in homologous recombination may also have predictive value for PARP inhibitors. While this notion is supported by early clinical evidence, the mutation frequencies of these and other functionally related genes are largely unknown, particularly in cancers not classically associated with homologous recombination deficiency. We therefore evaluated the mutation status of 22 genes associated with the homologous recombination DNA repair pathway or PARP inhibitor sensitivity, first in a pan-cancer cohort of 55,586 patients, followed by a more focused analysis in The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort of 12,153 patients. In both groups we observed high rates of mutations in a variety of HR-associated genes largely unexplored in the setting of PARP inhibition, many of which were associated also with poor clinical outcomes. We then extended our study to determine which mutations have a known oncogenic role, as well as similar to known oncogenic mutations that may have a similar phenotype. Finally, we explored the individual cancer histologies in which these genomic alterations are most frequent. We concluded that the rates of deleterious mutations affecting genes associated with the homologous recombination pathway may be underrepresented in a wide range of human cancers, and several of these genes warrant further and more focused investigation, particularly in the setting of PARP inhibition and HR deficiency.


2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Goričar ◽  
Viljem Kovač ◽  
Janez Jazbec ◽  
Janez Lamovec ◽  
Vita Dolžan

Summary Background: DNA repair mechanisms are essential for maintaining genome stability, and genetic variability in DNA repair genes may contribute to cancer susceptibility. Our aim was to evaluate the influence of polymorphisms in the homologous recombination repair genes XRCC3, RAD51, and NBN on the risk for osteosarcoma. Methods: In total, 79 osteosarcoma cases and 373 controls were genotyped for eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in XRCC3, RAD51, and NBN. Logistic regression was used to determine the association of these SNPs with risk for osteosarcoma. Results: None of the investigated SNPs was associated with risk for osteosarcoma in the whole cohort of patients, however, in patients diagnosed before the age of thirty years XRCC3 rs861539 C>T and NBN rs1805794 G>C were associated with significantly decreased risk for osteosarcoma (P=0.047, OR=0.54, 95% CI=0.30-0.99 and P=0.036, OR=0.42, 95% CI=0.19-0.94, respectively). Moreover, in the carriers of a combination of polymorphic alleles in both SNPs risk for osteosarcoma was decreased even more significantly (Ptrend=0.007). The risk for developing osteosarcoma was the lowest in patients with no wild-type alleles for both SNPs (P=0.039, OR=0.31, 95% CI=0.10-0.94). Conclusions: Our results suggest that polymorphisms in homologous recombination repair genes might contribute to risk for osteosarcoma in patients diagnosed below the age of thirty years.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 3763-3763
Author(s):  
Aksinija A Kogan ◽  
Lena J Mclaughlin ◽  
Maria R. Baer ◽  
Stephen Baylin ◽  
Michael Topper ◽  
...  

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients unfit for intensive chemotherapy are treated with DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis). However, while many AML patients respond to DNMTis, responses are not durable. We previously reporteda novel treatment strategy for AML that combines DNMTis with poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPis), drugs classically used to treat breast and ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutations and homologous recombination defects (HRD) (Faraoni and Graziani, 2018). We found that combining low doses of the potent PARP-trapping PARPi talazoparib with DNMTis increases PARP trapping and cytotoxicityin vitroand increases therapeutic efficacy in vivo (Muvarak et al, 2016). We have nowidentified a novel mechanism through which DNMTis may sensitize BRCA-proficient AML cells to PARPis. This mechanism is tied to the capacity of these drugs to reprogram cancer signaling networks, including altering DNA repair pathways (Tsai et al, 2012). In studies in AML cell lines (N=6) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from AML patients (N=4), we now show that treatment with the DNMTi decitabine (DAC) at a low concentration (10nM) can directly induce HRD, by significantly (p<0.01) down-regulating key genes central to HR activity, including multiple genes in the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway, as a mechanism for enhanced PARPi sensitivity. How do DNMTis downregulate HR gene expression? We show for the first time that immune signaling is linked to induction of HRD. We have previously shown that DNMTis activate innate immune pathways involving interferon (IFN) □ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) □, a phenomenon known as viral mimicry (Chiappinelli et al, 2015).First, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) AML data sets show an inverse correlation between type 1 interferon (IFN)/pro-inflammatory response and HR-related genes. Second, we verified in BRCA-proficient AML cell lines (N=6) that immune signaling by exogenous TNF□□or IFN□□treatment decreases HR gene expression and activity by more than two-fold for the majority of genes tested (p<0.0001). Third, treatment of AML cells with IFN□and the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 1/3 inhibitor ruxolitinib can rescue DAC-induced HRD. Importantly, we identified a common immune signaling pathway induced by both DNMTis and PARPis. PARPis have also been shown to activate type 1 IFN pathways via induction of cytoplasmic double-stranded DNA sensing through signaling of the cyclic GMP-AMP Synthase - Stimulator of Interferon Genes(cGAS-STING) pathway. We now find that inhibition of STING with inhibitor H-151 (500nM) not only rescues immune signaling induced by PARPi, but also by DAC and PARPi combination treatment. Moreover, the STING inhibitor also rescues DAC- and/or PARPi-induced HRD. These data suggest that STING may be a central signaling hub linked to HRD and also suggest ways in which epigenetic therapy, inhibitors of DNA damage response proteins, and targeted immune therapy can synergize to treat AML. Disclosures Baer: Takeda: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Kite: Research Funding; Forma: Research Funding; AI Therapeutics: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Astellas: Research Funding.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Paix ◽  
Helen Schmidt ◽  
Geraldine Seydoux

ABSTRACTRecombineering, the use of endogenous homologous recombination systems to recombine DNA in vivo, is a commonly used technique for genome editing in microbes. Recombineering has not yet been developed for animals, where non-homology-based mechanisms have been thought to dominate DNA repair. Here, we demonstrate that homology-dependent repair (HDR) is robust in C. elegans using linear templates with short homologies (~35 bases). Templates with homology to only one side of a double-strand break initiate repair efficiently, and short overlaps between templates support template switching. We demonstrate the use of single-stranded, bridging oligonucleotides (ssODNs) to target PCR fragments precisely to DSBs induced by CRISPR/Cas9 on chromosomes. Based on these findings, we develop recombineering strategies for genome editing that expand the utility of ssODNs and eliminate in vitro cloning steps for template construction. We apply these methods to the generation of GFP knock-in alleles and gene replacements without co-integrated markers. We conclude that, like microbes, metazoans possess robust homology-dependent repair mechanisms that can be harnessed for recombineering and genome editing.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongwu Lai ◽  
Matthew Brosnan ◽  
Ethan S. Sokol ◽  
Mingchao Xie ◽  
Jonathan R. Dry ◽  
...  

Abstract Background DNA repair deficiencies are characteristic of cancer and homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) is the most common. HRD sensitizes tumour cells to PARP inhibitors so it is important to understand the landscape of HRD across different solid tumour types. Methods Germline and somatic BRCA mutations in breast and ovarian cancers were evaluated using sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Secondly, a larger independent genomic dataset was analysed to validate the TCGA results and determine the frequency of germline and somatic mutations across 15 different candidate homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes, and their relationship with the genetic events of bi-allelic loss, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and tumour mutation burden (TMB). Results Approximately one-third of breast and ovarian cancer BRCA mutations were somatic. These showed a similar degree of bi-allelic loss and clinical outcomes to germline mutations, identifying potentially 50% more patients that may benefit from precision treatments. HRR mutations were present in sizable proportions in all tumour types analysed and were associated with high TMB and LOH scores. We also identified numerous BRCA reversion mutations across all tumour types. Conclusions Our results will facilitate future research into the efficacy of precision oncology treatments, including PARP and immune checkpoint inhibitors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (45) ◽  
pp. 22609-22618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Abbotts ◽  
Michael J. Topper ◽  
Christopher Biondi ◽  
Daniel Fontaine ◽  
Reena Goswami ◽  
...  

A minority of cancers have breast cancer gene (BRCA) mutations that confer sensitivity to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPis), but the role for PARPis in BRCA-proficient cancers is not well established. This suggests the need for novel combination therapies to expand the use of these drugs. Recent reports that low doses of DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) plus PARPis enhance PARPi efficacy in BRCA-proficient AML subtypes, breast, and ovarian cancer open up the possibility that this strategy may apply to other sporadic cancers. We identify a key mechanistic aspect of this combination therapy in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC): that the DNMTi component creates a BRCAness phenotype through downregulating expression of key homologous recombination and nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) genes. Importantly, from a translational perspective, the above changes in DNA repair processes allow our combinatorial PARPi and DNMTi therapy to robustly sensitize NSCLC cells to ionizing radiation in vitro and in vivo. Our combinatorial approach introduces a biomarker strategy and a potential therapy paradigm for treating BRCA-proficient cancers like NSCLC.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 4501
Author(s):  
Marcin Herok ◽  
Bartosz Wawrzynow ◽  
Marta J. Maluszek ◽  
Maciej B. Olszewski ◽  
Alicja Zylicz ◽  
...  

Analyzing the TCGA breast cancer database, we discovered that patients with the HER2 cancer subtype and overexpression of MDM2 exhibited decreased post-treatment survival. Inhibition of MDM2 expression in the SKBR3 cell line (HER2 subtype) diminished the survival of cancer cells treated with doxorubicin, etoposide, and camptothecin. Moreover, we demonstrated that inhibition of MDM2 expression diminished DNA repair by homologous recombination (HR) and sensitized SKBR3 cells to a PARP inhibitor, olaparib. In H1299 (TP53−/−) cells treated with neocarzinostatin (NCS), overexpression of MDM2 WT or E3-dead MDM2 C478S variant stimulated the NCS-dependent phosphorylation of ATM, NBN, and BRCA1, proteins involved in HR DNA repair. However, overexpression of chaperone-dead MDM2 K454A variant diminished phosphorylation of these proteins as well as the HR DNA repair. Moreover, we demonstrated that, upon NCS treatment, MDM2 K454A interacted with NBN more efficiently than MDM2 WT and that MDM2 WT was degraded more efficiently than MDM2 K454A. Using a proliferation assay, we showed that overexpression of MDM2 WT, but not MDM2 K454A, led to acquisition of resistance to NCS. The presented results indicate that, following chemotherapy, MDM2 WT was released from MDM2-NBN complex and efficiently degraded, hence allowing extensive HR DNA repair leading to the acquisition of chemoresistance by cancer cells.


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (37) ◽  
pp. 10238-10244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minmin Liu ◽  
Hitoshi Ohtani ◽  
Wanding Zhou ◽  
Andreas Due Ørskov ◽  
Jessica Charlet ◽  
...  

Vitamin C deficiency is found in patients with cancer and might complicate various therapy paradigms. Here we show how this deficiency may influence the use of DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) for treatment of hematological neoplasias. In vitro, when vitamin C is added at physiological levels to low doses of the DNMTi 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR), there is a synergistic inhibition of cancer-cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. These effects are associated with enhanced immune signals including increased expression of bidirectionally transcribed endogenous retrovirus (ERV) transcripts, increased cytosolic dsRNA, and activation of an IFN-inducing cellular response. This synergistic effect is likely the result of both passive DNA demethylation by DNMTi and active conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) by ten–eleven translocation (TET) enzymes at LTR regions of ERVs, because vitamin C acts as a cofactor for TET proteins. In addition, TET2 knockout reduces the synergy between the two compounds. Furthermore, we show that many patients with hematological neoplasia are markedly vitamin C deficient. Thus, our data suggest that correction of vitamin C deficiency in patients with hematological and other cancers may improve responses to epigenetic therapy with DNMTis.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Gentles ◽  
Bojidar Goranov ◽  
Elizabeth Matheson ◽  
Ashleigh Herriott ◽  
Angelika Kaufmann ◽  
...  

Dysfunctional homologous recombination DNA repair (HRR), frequently due to BRCA mutations, is a determinant of sensitivity to platinum chemotherapy and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi). In cultures of ovarian cancer cells, we have previously shown that HRR function, based upon RAD51 foci quantification, correlated with growth inhibition ex vivo induced by rucaparib (a PARPi) and 12-month survival following platinum chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of measuring HRR dysfunction (HRD) in other tumours, in order to estimate the frequency and hence wider potential of PARPi. A total of 24 cultures were established from ascites sampled from 27 patients with colorectal, upper gastrointestinal, pancreatic, hepatobiliary, breast, mesothelioma, and non-epithelial ovarian cancers; 8 were HRD. Cell growth following continuous exposure to 10 μM of rucaparib was lower in HRD cultures compared to HRR-competent (HRC) cultures. Overall survival in the 10 patients who received platinum-based therapy was marginally higher in the 3 with HRD ascites (median overall survival of 17 months, range 10 to 90) compared to the 7 patients with HRC ascites (nine months, range 1 to 55). HRR functional assessment in primary cultures, from several tumour types, revealed that a third are HRD, justifying the further exploration of PARPi therapy in a broader range of tumours.


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