scholarly journals WEE1 kinase is a therapeutic vulnerability in CIC-DUX4 undifferentiated sarcoma.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rovingaile Kriska Ponce ◽  
Nicholas J Thomas ◽  
Nam Q Bui ◽  
Tadashi Kondo ◽  
Ross A Okimoto
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Damage ◽  
Cell Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
M Cell ◽  
Undifferentiated Sarcoma ◽  
Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
Wee1 Kinase ◽  
Apoptotic Induction

CIC-DUX4 rearrangements define an aggressive and chemotherapy-insensitive subset of undifferentiated sarcomas. The CIC-DUX4 fusion drives oncogenesis through direct transcriptional upregulation of cell cycle and DNA replication genes. Notably, CIC-DUX4-mediated CCNE1 upregulation compromises the G1/S transition, conferring a potential survival dependence on the G2/M cell cycle checkpoint. Through an integrative transcriptional and kinase activity screen using patient-derived specimens, we now show that CIC-DUX4 sarcomas depend on the G2/M checkpoint regulator, WEE1, as an adaptive survival mechanism. Specifically, CIC-DUX4 sarcomas depend on WEE1 activity to limit DNA damage and unscheduled mitotic entry. Consequently, genetic or pharmacologic WEE1 inhibition in vitro and in vivo leads to rapid DNA damage-associated apoptotic induction of patient-derived CIC-DUX4 sarcomas. Thus, we identify WEE1 as an actionable therapeutic vulnerability in CIC-DUX4 sarcomas.

scholarly journals The ATM/ATR Signaling Effector Chk2 Is Targeted by Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen 3C To Release the G2/M Cell Cycle Block

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (12) ◽  
pp. 6718-6730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tathagata Choudhuri ◽  
Subhash C. Verma ◽  
Ke Lan ◽  
Masanao Murakami ◽  
Erle S. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
B Lymphocytes ◽  
Epstein Barr Virus ◽  
Cell Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
Nuclear Antigen ◽  
M Cell ◽  
Barr Virus ◽  
Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
Epstein Barr

ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects most of the human population and persists in B lymphocytes for the lifetime of the host. The establishment of latent infection by EBV requires the expression of a unique repertoire of genes. The product of one of these viral genes, the EBV nuclear antigen 3C (EBNA3C), is essential for the growth transformation of primary B lymphocytes in vitro and can regulate the transcription of a number of viral and cellular genes important for the immortalization process. This study demonstrates an associated function of EBNA3C which involves the disruption of the G2/M cell cycle checkpoint. We show that EBNA3C-expressing lymphoblastoid cell lines treated with the drug nocodazole, which is known to block cells at the G2/M transition, did not show a G2/M-specific checkpoint arrest. Analyses of the cell cycles of cells expressing EBNA3C demonstrated that the expression of this essential EBV nuclear antigen is capable of releasing the G2/M checkpoint arrest induced by nocodazole. This G2/M arrest in response to nocodazole was also abolished by caffeine, suggesting an involvement of the ATM/ATR signaling pathway in the regulation of this cell cycle checkpoint. Importantly, we show that the direct interaction of EBNA3C with Chk2, the ATM/ATR signaling effector, is responsible for the release of this nocodazole-induced G2/M arrest and that this interaction leads to the serine 216 phosphorylation of Cdc25c, which is sequestered in the cytoplasm by 14-3-3. Overall, our data suggest that EBNA3C can directly regulate the G2/M component of the host cell cycle machinery, allowing for the release of the checkpoint block.

scholarly journals Activation of Akt/Protein Kinase B Overcomes a G2/M Cell Cycle Checkpoint Induced by DNA Damage

2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (22) ◽  
pp. 7831-7841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene S. Kandel ◽  
Jennifer Skeen ◽  
Nathan Majewski ◽  
Antonio Di Cristofano ◽  
Pier Paolo Pandolfi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Damage ◽  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinase B ◽  
Es Cells ◽  
Cell Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
M Cell ◽  
Human Cancers ◽  
Cycle Checkpoint

ABSTRACT Activation of Akt, or protein kinase B, is frequently observed in human cancers. Here we report that Akt activation via overexpression of a constitutively active form or via the loss of PTEN can overcome a G2/M cell cycle checkpoint that is induced by DNA damage. Activated Akt also alleviates the reduction in CDC2 activity and mitotic index upon exposure to DNA damage. In addition, we found that PTEN null embryonic stem (ES) cells transit faster from the G2/M to the G1 phase of the cell cycle when compared to wild-type ES cells and that inhibition of phosphoinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) in HEK293 cells elicits G2 arrest that is alleviated by activated Akt. Furthermore, the transition from the G2/M to the G1 phase of the cell cycle in Akt1 null mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) is attenuated when compared to that of wild-type MEFs. These results indicate that the PI3K/PTEN/Akt pathway plays a role in the regulation of G2/M transition. Thus, cells expressing activated Akt continue to divide, without being eliminated by apoptosis, in the presence of continuous exposure to mutagen and accumulate mutations, as measured by inactivation of an exogenously expressed herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene. This phenotype is independent of p53 status and cannot be reproduced by overexpression of Bcl-2 or Myc and Bcl-2 but seems to counteract a cell cycle checkpoint mediated by DNA mismatch repair (MMR). Accordingly, restoration of the G2/M cell cycle checkpoint and apoptosis in MMR-deficient cells, through reintroduction of the missing component of MMR, is alleviated by activated Akt. We suggest that this new activity of Akt in conjunction with its antiapoptotic activity may contribute to genetic instability and could explain its frequent activation in human cancers.

scholarly journals LARP7 is a BRCA1 ubiquitinase substrate and regulates genome stability and tumorigenesis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Zhang ◽  
Pengyi Yan ◽  
Huijing Yu ◽  
Huangying Le ◽  
Zixuan li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Damage ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Tumor Therapy ◽  
Genotoxic Stress ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
List Type ◽  
M Cell

SummaryAttenuated DNA repair leads to genomic instability and tumorigenesis. BRCA1/BARD1 are the best known tumor suppressors that promote homology recombination (HR) and arrest cell cycle at G2/M checkpoint. As E3 ubiquitin ligases, their ubiquitinase activity has been known to involve in the HR and tumor suppression, but the mechanism remains ambiguous. Here, we demonstrated upon genotoxic stress, BRCA1 together with BARD1 catalyzed the K48 ployubiquitination on LARP7, a 7SK RNA binding protein known to control RNAPII pausing, and thereby degraded it through 26S ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Depleting LARP7 suppressed the expression of CDK1 complex, arrested cell at G2/M DNA damage checkpoint and reduced BRCA2 phosphorylation which thereby facilitated RAD51 recruitment to damaged DNA to enhance HR. Importantly, LARP7 depletion observed in breast patients lead to the chemoradiotherapy resistance both in vitro and in vivo. Together, this study unveils a mechanism by which BRCA1/BARD1 utilizes their E3 ligase activity to control HR and cell cycle, and highlights LARP7 as a potential target for cancer prevention and therapy.HighlightsDNA damage response downregulates LARP7 through BRCA1/BARD1BRCA1/BARD1 catalyzes the K48 polyubiquitination on LARP7LARP7 promotes G2/M cell cycle transition and tumorigenesis via CDK1 complexLARP7 disputes homology-directed repair that leads to tumor therapy resistance

Spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase overexpression in kidney epithelial cells disrupts polyamine homeostasis, leads to DNA damage, and causes G2 arrest

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (3) ◽  
pp. C1204-C1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamyar Zahedi ◽  
John J. Bissler ◽  
Zhaohui Wang ◽  
Anuradha Josyula ◽  
Lu Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Dna Damage ◽  
Dna Repair ◽  
Ischemia Reperfusion Injury ◽  
Ischemia Reperfusion ◽  
Dna Lesions ◽  
Cell Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
Cycle Checkpoint

Expression of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) increases in kidneys subjected to ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Increased expression of SSAT in vitro leads to alterations in cellular polyamine content, depletion of cofactors and precursors of polyamine synthesis, and reduced cell proliferation. In our model system, a >28-fold increase in SSAT levels in HEK-293 cells leads to depletion of polyamines and elevation in the enzymatic activities of ornithine decarboxylase and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, suggestive of a compensatory reaction to increased polyamine catabolism. Increased expression of SSAT also led to DNA damage and G2 arrest. The increased DNA damage was primarily due to the depletion of polyamines. Other factors such as increased production of H2O2 due to polyamine oxidase activity may play a secondary role in the induction of DNA lesions. In response to DNA damage the ATM/ATR → Chk1/2 DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoint pathways were activated, mediating the G2 arrest in SSAT-expressing cells. In addition, the activation of ERK1 and ERK2, which play integral roles in the G2/M transition, is impaired in cells expressing SSAT. These results indicate that the disruption of polyamine homeostasis due to enhanced SSAT activity leads to DNA damage and reduced cell proliferation via activation of DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoint and disruption of Raf → MEK → ERK pathways. We propose that in kidneys subjected to IRI, one mechanism through which increased expression of SSAT may cause cellular injury and organ damage is through induction of DNA damage and the disruption of cell cycle.

Imaging with FLT-PET demonstrates that PF-477736, an inhibitor of CHK1 kinase, overcomes a cell cycle checkpoint induced by gemcitabine in PC-3 xenografts

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 3045-3045 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. McArthur ◽  
J. Raleigh ◽  
A. Blasina ◽  
C. Cullinane ◽  
D. Dorow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Damage ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Cell Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
Flt Pet ◽  
Cycle Arrest ◽  
Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Chk1 Inhibitor

3045 Background: The development of strategies to monitor the molecular and cellular response to novel agents that target the cell cycle is vital to provide proof of mechanism and biological activity of these compounds. The protein kinase CHK1 is activated following DNA damage in the S and G2-phases of the cell cycle and mediates cell cycle arrest. In vitro studies demonstrate that inhibition of CHK1 can overcome cell cycle arrest induced by DNA damage and enhance cytotoxic activity of DNA damaging agents. In vivo studies show that combining DNA damaging agents with a CHK1 inhibitor potentiates antitumor activity. We hypothesize that functional imaging with 18F-fluorine-L-thymidine (FLT), a PET-tracer where tumor uptake is maximal in the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle can be used to non-invasively monitor the induction and therapeutic inhibition of a cell cycle checkpoint in vivo. Methods: Nude mice harbouring PC-3 xenografts were treated with vehicle controls, gemcitabine, the CHK1-inhibitor PF-477736 or gemcitabine + PF-477736. FLT-PET scans were performed and tumors harvested for ex-vivo biomarkers to assess S-phase, M-phase and DNA-repair. Results: Gemcitabine induced a 8.3 ±0.8 fold increase in tumoral uptake of FLT at 21 hours that correlated with a 3.3 ±0.2-fold increase in thymidine kinase activity and S-phase arrest as demonstrated by BrdU incorporation and elevated expression of cyclin-A. Treatment with PF-477736 at 17 hours after gemcitabine abrogated the early FLT-flare at 21 hours by 82% (p<0.001). This was associated with both an increased fraction of cells in mitosis and G1-phase of the cell cycle as determined by phos-histone H3 and flow cytometry. Furthermore, the combination of gemcitabine and PF-477736 enhanced DNA damage as measured by phos-gamma-H2AX and significantly delayed tumor growth when compared to tumors treated with gemcitabine alone. Conclusion: These data clearly indicate that the CHK1-inhibitor PF-477736 can overcome the cell cycle checkpoint induced by gemcitabine and increase associated DNA damage in tumors in-vivo. The PET studies indicate that functional imaging with FLT-PET is a promising strategy to monitor responses to therapeutic agents that target cell cycle checkpoints. [Table: see text]

scholarly journals Artemis Is a Phosphorylation Target of ATM and ATR and Is Involved in the G2/M DNA Damage Checkpoint Response

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (20) ◽  
pp. 9207-9220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoshan Zhang ◽  
Janice Succi ◽  
Zhaohui Feng ◽  
Sheela Prithivirajsingh ◽  
Michael D. Story ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Damage ◽  
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽  
Cell Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
End Joining ◽  
M Cell ◽  
Checkpoint Kinase ◽  
Checkpoint Response ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Cycle Checkpoint

ABSTRACT Mutations in Artemis in both humans and mice result in severe combined immunodeficiency due to a defect in V(D)J recombination. In addition, Artemis mutants are radiosensitive and chromosomally unstable, which has been attributed to a defect in nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). We show here, however, that Artemis-depleted cell extracts are not defective in NHEJ and that Artemis-deficient cells have normal repair kinetics of double-strand breaks after exposure to ionizing radiation (IR). Artemis is shown, however, to interact with known cell cycle checkpoint proteins and to be a phosphorylation target of the checkpoint kinase ATM or ATR after exposure of cells to IR or UV irradiation, respectively. Consistent with these findings, our results also show that Artemis is required for the maintenance of a normal DNA damage-induced G2/M cell cycle arrest. Artemis does not appear, however, to act either upstream or downstream of checkpoint kinase Chk1 or Chk2. These results define Artemis as having a checkpoint function and suggest that the radiosensitivity and chromosomal instability of Artemis-deficient cells may be due to defects in cell cycle responses after DNA damage.

scholarly journals WEE1 Inhibition Enhances Anti-Apoptotic Dependency as a Result of Premature Mitotic Entry and DNA Damage

Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilde Rikje Willemijn de Jong ◽  
Myra Langendonk ◽  
Bart Reitsma ◽  
Pien Herbers ◽  
Marcel Nijland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Damage ◽  
B Cell Lymphoma ◽  
Cell Cycle Checkpoint ◽  
Cell Cycle Checkpoints ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
M Cell ◽  
Mitotic Entry ◽  
Enhanced Sensitivity ◽  
Cycle Checkpoint

Genomically unstable cancers are dependent on specific cell cycle checkpoints to maintain viability and prevent apoptosis. The cell cycle checkpoint protein WEE1 is highly expressed in genomically unstable cancers, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Although WEE1 inhibition effectively induces apoptosis in cancer cells, the effect of WEE1 inhibition on anti-apoptotic dependency is not well understood. We show that inhibition of WEE1 by AZD1775 induces DNA damage and pre-mitotic entry in DLBCL, thereby enhancing dependency on BCL-2 and/or MCL-1. Combining AZD1775 with anti-apoptotic inhibitors such as venetoclax (BCL-2i) or S63845 (MCL-1i) enhanced sensitivity in a cell-specific manner. In addition, we demonstrate that both G2/M cell cycle arrest and DNA damage induction put a similar stress on DLBCL cells, thereby enhancing anti-apoptotic dependency. Therefore, genotoxic or cell cycle disrupting agents combined with specific anti-apoptotic inhibitors may be very effective in genomic unstable cancers such as DLBCL and therefore warrants further clinical evaluation.

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