scholarly journals 5-Fluorouracil sensitizes colorectal tumor cells towards double stranded DNA breaks by interfering with homologous recombination repair

Oncotarget ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (14) ◽  
pp. 12574-12586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Upadhyayula Sai Srinivas ◽  
Jerzy Dyczkowski ◽  
Tim Beißbarth ◽  
Jochen Gaedcke ◽  
Wael Y. Mansour ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Laura Cortesi ◽  
Claudia Piombino ◽  
Angela Toss

The homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway repairs double-strand DNA breaks, mostly by BRCA1 and BRCA2, although other proteins such as ATM, CHEK2, and PALB2 are also involved. BRCA1/2 germline mutations are targeted by PARP inhibitors. The aim of this commentary is to explore whether germline mutations in HRR-related genes other than BRCA1/2 have to be considered as prognostic factors or predictive to therapies by discussing the results of two articles published in December 2020. The TBCRC 048 trial published by Tung et al. showed an impressive objective response rate to olaparib in metastatic breast cancer patients with germline PALB2 mutation compared to germline ATM and CHEK2 mutation carriers. Additionally, Yadav et al. observed a significantly longer overall survival in pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients with germline HRR mutations compared to non-carriers. In our opinion, assuming that PALB2 is a high-penetrant gene with a key role in the HRR system, PALB2 mutations are predictive factors for response to treatment. Moreover, germline mutations in the ATM gene provide a better outcome in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, being more often associated to wild-type KRAS. In conclusion, sequencing of HRR-related genes other than BRCA1/2 should be routinely offered as part of a biological characterization of pancreatic and breast cancers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasun Chakraborty ◽  
Kevin Hiom

AbstractDouble stranded DNA Breaks (DSB) that occur in highly transcribed regions of the genome are preferentially repaired by homologous recombination repair (HR). However, the mechanisms that link transcription with HR are unknown. Here we identify a critical role for DHX9, a RNA helicase involved in the processing of pre-mRNA during transcription, in the initiation of HR. Cells that are deficient in DHX9 are impaired in the recruitment of RPA and RAD51 to sites of DNA damage and fail to repair DSB by HR. Consequently, these cells are hypersensitive to treatment with agents such as camptothecin and Olaparib that block transcription and generate DSB that specifically require HR for their repair. We show that DHX9 plays a critical role in HR by promoting the recruitment of BRCA1 to RNA as part of the RNA Polymerase II transcription complex, where it facilitates the resection of DSB. Moreover, defects in DHX9 also lead to impaired ATR-mediated damage signalling and an inability to restart DNA replication at camptothecin-induced DSB. Together, our data reveal a previously unknown role for DHX9 in the DNA Damage Response that provides a critical link between RNA, RNA Pol II and the repair of DNA damage by homologous recombination.


2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (37) ◽  
pp. 12946-12961
Author(s):  
Soichiro S. Ito ◽  
Yosuke Nakagawa ◽  
Masaya Matsubayashi ◽  
Yoshihiko M. Sakaguchi ◽  
Shinko Kobashigawa ◽  
...  

The anticancer agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is cytotoxic and often used to treat various cancers. 5-FU is thought to inhibit the enzyme thymidylate synthase, which plays a role in nucleotide synthesis and has been found to induce single- and double-strand DNA breaks. ATR Ser/Thr kinase (ATR) is a principal kinase in the DNA damage response and is activated in response to UV– and chemotherapeutic drug–induced DNA replication stress, but its role in cellular responses to 5-FU is unclear. In this study, we examined the effect of ATR inhibition on 5-FU sensitivity of mammalian cells. Using immunoblotting, we found that 5-FU treatment dose-dependently induced the phosphorylation of ATR at the autophosphorylation site Thr-1989 and thereby activated its kinase. Administration of 5-FU with a specific ATR inhibitor remarkably decreased cell survival, compared with 5-FU treatment combined with other major DNA repair kinase inhibitors. Of note, the ATR inhibition enhanced induction of DNA double-strand breaks and apoptosis in 5-FU–treated cells. Using gene expression analysis, we found that 5-FU induced the activation of the intra-S cell-cycle checkpoint. Cells lacking BRCA2 were sensitive to 5-FU in the presence of ATR inhibitor. Moreover, ATR inhibition enhanced the efficacy of the 5-FU treatment, independently of the nonhomologous end-joining and homologous recombination repair pathways. These findings suggest that ATR could be a potential therapeutic target in 5-FU–based chemotherapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Shen ◽  
Li Yang ◽  
Fei-Yan Li ◽  
Feng Zhang ◽  
Lei-Lei Ding ◽  
...  

: Endometrial cancer is one of the three most common malignant tumors in the female reproductive system. Advanced and recurrent endometrial cancers have poor prognoses and lack effective treatments. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors have been applied to many different types of tumors, and they can selectively kill tumor cells that are defective in homologous recombination repair. Endometrial cancer is characterized by mutations in homologous recombination repair genes; accordingly, PARP inhibitors have achieved positive results in off-label treatments of endometrial cancer cases. Clinical trials of PARP inhibitors as monotherapies and within combination therapies for endometrial cancer are ongoing. For this review, we searched PubMed with "endometrial cancer" and "PARP inhibitor" as keywords, and we used "olaparib", "rucaparib", "niraparib" and "talazoparib" as search terms in clinicaltrials.gov for ongoing trials. The literature search ended in October 2020, and only English-language publications were selected. Multiple studies confirm that PARP inhibitors play an important role in killing tumor cells with defects in homologous recombination repair. Its combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors, cell cycle checkpoint inhibitors, and other drugs can improve the treatment of endometrial cancer.


2014 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. S170
Author(s):  
F. Hageman ◽  
C.V.M. Verhagen ◽  
A. Di Carli ◽  
M.J. O’Connor ◽  
J. Jonkers ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soichiro S. Ito ◽  
Yosuke Nakagawa ◽  
Masaya Matsubayashi ◽  
Yoshihiko M. Sakaguchi ◽  
Shinko Kobashigawa ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe anticancer agent, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), is typically applied in the treatment of various types of cancers because of its properties. Thought to be an inhibitor of the enzyme thymidylate synthase which plays a role in nucleotide synthesis, 5-FU has been found to induce single- and double-strand DNA breaks. The activation of ATR occurs as a reaction to UV- and chemotherapeutic drug-induced replication stress. In this study, we examined the effect of ATR inhibition on 5-FU sensitivity. Using western blotting, we found that 5-FU treatment led to the phosphorylation of ATR. Surviving fractions were remarkably decreased in 5-FU with ATR inhibitor (ATRi) compared to 5-FU with other major DNA repair kinases inhibitors. ATR inhibition enhanced induction of DNA double-strand breaks and apoptosis in 5-FU-treated cells. Using gene expression analysis, we found that 5-FU could induce the activation of intra-S checkpoint. Surprisingly, BRCA2-deficient cells were sensitive to 5-FU in the presence of ATRi. In addition, ATR inhibition enhanced the efficacy of 5-FU treatment, independent of non-homologous end-joining and homologous recombination repair pathways. Findings from the present study suggest ATR as a potential therapeutic target for 5-FU chemotherapy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Smith ◽  
Boris Gole ◽  
Nicholas A. Willis ◽  
Rebeca Soria ◽  
Linda M. Starnes ◽  
...  

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