Differential Effects of Combined ATR/WEE1 Inhibition in Cancer Cells.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Rodland GE
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8345075 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive subtype of breast cancer that poses a clinical challenge. Thus, new therapy strategies are urgently needed. The selective WEE1 inhibitor, AZD1775, has shown strong anti-proliferative effects on a variety of tumors. Here, we first demonstrate that inhibition of ATR by selective inhibitor AZD6738 can enhance AZD1775-caused growth inhibition in TNBC. Our results show that the enhanced cell death is attributed to repressed DNA damage repair and excessive replication stress, thereby causing increased DNA damage reflected by accumulation of the DNA double-strand-break marker γH2AX. On the other hand, combined treatment with AZD6738 and AZD1775 forces mitotic entry of cells with DNA damages by activating CDK1 activity, inducing severely aberrant mitosis and mitotic catastrophe, ultimately resulting in cell death. Dual inhibition of WEE1 and ATR also inactivated RAD51-mediated homologous recombination, which sensitized TNBC cells to cisplatin and PARP inhibitor. Here, based on the preclinical results that ATR inhibition synergizes with WEE1 inhibition in TNBC, we propose that this combination therapy alone, or in parallel with chemotherapy, represents an innovative and potent targeted therapy in TNBC.
| S-EPMC5915994 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundStandard platinum-based therapy for ovarian cancer is inefficient against ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC). OCCC is a distinct subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer. OCCC constitutes 25% of ovarian cancers in East Asia (Japan, Korea, China, Singapore) and 6-10% in Europe and North America. The cancer is characterized by frequent inactivation of ARID1A and 10% of cases of endometriosis progression to OCCC. The aim of this study was to identify drugs that are either FDA-approved or in clinical trials for the treatment of OCCC.ResultsHigh throughput screening of 166 compounds that are either FDA-approved, in clinical trials or are in pre-clinical studies identified several cytotoxic compounds against OCCC. ARID1A knockdown cells were more sensitive to inhibitors of either mTOR (PP242), dual mTOR/PI3K (GDC0941), ATR (AZD6738) or MDM2 (RG7388) compared to control cells. Also, compounds targeting BH3 domain (AZD4320) and SRC (AZD0530) displayed preferential cytotoxicity against ARID1A mutant cell lines. In addition, WEE1 inhibitor (AZD1775) showed broad cytotoxicity toward OCCC cell lines, irrespective of ARID1A status.ConclusionsIn a selection of 166 compounds we showed that inhibitors of ATR and WEE1 were cytotoxic against a panel of OCCC cell lines. These two drugs are already in other clinical trials, making them ideal candidates for treatment of OCCC.
| S-EPMC10122390 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is an essential, evolutionarily conserved molecular chaperone. Cancer cells rely on Hsp90 to chaperone mutated and/or activated oncoproteins, and its involvement in numerous signaling pathways makes it an attractive target for drug development. Surprisingly, however, the impact of Hsp90 inhibitors on cancer cells is frequently cytostatic in nature, and efforts to enhance the antitumor activity of Hsp90 inhibitors in the clinic remain a significant challenge. In agreement with previous data obtained using Wee1 siRNA, we show that dual pharmacologic inhibition of Wee1 tyrosine kinase and Hsp90 causes cancer cells to undergo apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Gene expression profiling revealed that induction of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway by this drug combination coincided with transcriptional downregulation of Survivin and Wee1, an outcome not seen in cells treated separately with either agent. At the translational level, expression of these two proteins, as well as activated Akt, was completely abrogated. These data support the hypothesis that Wee1 inhibition sensitizes cancer cells to Hsp90 inhibitors; they establish combined Wee1/Hsp90 inhibition as a novel therapeutic strategy; and they provide a mechanistic rationale for enhancing the pro-apoptotic activity of Hsp90 inhibitors.
| S-EPMC3478315 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeCurrently, the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway represents a key target for new cancer drug development. Advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) has a poor prognosis because of the lack of efficacious treatment options. Although DNA repair pathway alterations have been reported in many patients with BTC, little is known regarding the effects of DDR-targeted agents against BTC.Materials and methodsIn this study, nine BTC cell lines were exposed to the WEE1 inhibitor (AZD1775). In vitro, MTT assay, colony-forming assay, cell cycle analysis, phospho-histone H3 staining assay, Transwell migration assay, and western blot were performed. Then, to enhance the antitumor effect of AZD1775, the combination treatment of WEE1 inhibitor and ataxia telangiectasia mutated and Rad3 related (ATR) inhibitor (AZD6738) was conducted using MTT assay and comet assay. Finally, HuCCT-1 and SNU2670 xenograft models were established to confirm the anti-tumor effect of AZD1775 alone. Furthermore, the combination treatment was also evaluated in SNU2670 xenograft models.ResultsAZD1775 blocked the phosphorylation of CDC2 and CDC25C in all cell lines, but significantly increased apoptosis and S phase arrest in sensitive cells. However, increased p-ATR and phosphorylated ataxia telangiectasia mutated levels were observed in less sensitive cells. In addition, in vitro and in vivo data illustrated that AZD1775 combined with AZD6738 exerted more potent anti-tumor effects than either drug alone. Although WEE1 inhibition has promising anti-tumor effects in some BTC cells, the addition of ATR inhibitors could enhance its efficacy.ConclusionTaken together, this study supports further clinical development of DDR-targeted strategies as monotherapy or combination regimens for BTC.
| S-EPMC7373879 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeWhile the addition of radiation to chemotherapy improves survival in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, more effective therapies are urgently needed. Thus, we investigated the radiosensitizing efficacy of the novel drug combination of Wee1 and PARP1/2 inhibitors (AZD1775 and olaparib, respectively) in pancreatic cancer.Experimental designRadiosensitization of AsPC-1 or MiaPaCa-2 human pancreatic cancer cells was assessed by clonogenic survival and tumor growth assays. Mechanistically, the effects of AZD1775, olaparib, and radiation on cell cycle, DNA damage (γH2AX), and homologous recombination repair (HRR) were determined.ResultsTreatment of AsPC-1 and MiaPaCa-2 cells with either AZD1775 or olaparib caused modest radiosensitization, whereas treatment with the combination significantly increased radiosensitization. Radiosensitization by the combination of AZD1775 and olaparib was associated with G2 checkpoint abrogation and persistent DNA damage. In addition, AZD1775 inhibited HRR activity and prevented radiation-induced Rad51 focus formation. Finally, in vivo, in MiaPaCa-2-derived xenografts, olaparib did not radiosensitize, whereas AZD1775 produced moderate, yet significant, radiosensitization (P < 0.05). Importantly, the combination of AZD1775 and olaparib produced highly significant radiosensitization (P < 0.0001) evidenced by a 13-day delay in tumor volume doubling (vs. radiation alone) and complete eradication of 20% of tumors.ConclusionsTaken together, these results demonstrate the efficacy of combined inhibition of Wee1 and PARP inhibitors for radiosensitizing pancreatic cancers and support the model that Wee1 inhibition sensitizes cells to PARP inhibitor-mediated radiosensitization through inhibition of HRR and abrogation of the G2 checkpoint, ultimately resulting in unrepaired, lethal DNA damage and radiosensitization. Clin Cancer Res; 20(19); 5085-96. ©2014 AACR.
| S-EPMC4184968 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Selective killing of cancer cells while sparing healthy ones is the principle of the perfect cancer treatment and the primary aim of many oncologists, molecular biologists, and medicinal chemists. To achieve this goal, it is crucial to understand the molecular mechanisms that distinguish cancer cells from healthy ones. Accordingly, several clinical candidates that use particular mutations in cell-cycle progressions have been developed to kill cancer cells. As the majority of cancer cells have defects in G1 control, targeting the subsequent intra‑S or G2/M checkpoints has also been extensively pursued. This review focuses on clinical candidates that target the kinases involved in intra‑S and G2/M checkpoints, namely, ATR, CHK1, and WEE1 inhibitors. It provides insight into their current status and future perspectives for anticancer treatment. Overall, even though CHK1 inhibitors are still far from clinical establishment, promising accomplishments with ATR and WEE1 inhibitors in phase II trials present a positive outlook for patient survival.
| S-EPMC7918546 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSubcutaneous mouse tumour models are widely used for the screening of novel antitumour treatments, although these models are poor surrogate models of human cancers.MethodsWe compared the antitumour efficacy of the combination of ionising radiation (IR) with two DNA damage response inhibitors, the PARP inhibitor olaparib and the ATR inhibitor AZD6738 (ceralasertib), in subcutaneous versus orthotopic cancer models.ResultsOlaparib delayed the growth of irradiated Lewis lung carcinoma (LL2) subcutaneous tumours, in agreement with previous reports in human cell lines. However, the olaparib plus IR combination showed a very narrow therapeutic window against LL2 lung orthotopic tumours, with nearly no additional antitumour effect compared with that of IR alone, and tolerability issues emerged at high doses. The addition of AZD6738 greatly enhanced the efficacy of the olaparib plus IR combination treatment against subcutaneous but not orthotopic LL2 tumours. Moreover, olaparib plus AZD6738 administration concomitant with IR even worsened the response to radiation of head and neck orthotopic tumours and induced mucositis.ConclusionsThese major differences in the responses to treatments between subcutaneous and orthotopic models highlight the importance of using more pathologically relevant models, such as syngeneic orthotopic models, to determine the most appropriate therapeutic approaches for translation to the clinic.
| S-EPMC7463250 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib is FDA approved for the treatment of BRCA-mutated breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers. Olaparib inhibits PARP1/2 enzymatic activity and traps PARP1 on DNA at single-strand breaks, leading to replication-induced DNA damage that requires BRCA1/2-dependent homologous recombination repair. Moreover, DNA damage response pathways mediated by the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and ataxia-telangiectasia mutated and Rad3-related (ATR) kinases are hypothesised to be important survival pathways in response to PARP-inhibitor treatment. Here, we show that olaparib combines synergistically with the ATR-inhibitor AZD6738 (ceralasertib), in vitro, leading to selective cell death in ATM-deficient cells. We observe that 24?h olaparib treatment causes cells to accumulate in G2-M of the cell cycle, however, co-administration with AZD6738 releases the olaparib-treated cells from G2 arrest. Selectively in ATM-knockout cells, we show that combined olaparib/AZD6738 treatment induces more chromosomal aberrations and achieves this at lower concentrations and earlier treatment time-points than either monotherapy. Furthermore, single-agent olaparib efficacy in vitro requires PARP inhibition throughout multiple rounds of replication. Here, we demonstrate in several ATM-deficient cell lines that the olaparib and AZD6738 combination induces cell death within 1-2 cell divisions, suggesting that combined treatment could circumvent the need for prolonged drug exposure. Finally, we demonstrate in vivo combination activity of olaparib and AZD6738 in xenograft and PDX mouse models with complete ATM loss. Collectively, these data provide a mechanistic understanding of combined PARP and ATR inhibition in ATM-deficient models, and support the clinical development of AZD6738 in combination with olaparib.
| S-EPMC7299845 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a significant cause of cancer deaths. Cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy is a standard of care for locally advanced disease. ATR and DNA-PK inhibition (DNA-PKi) are actively being investigated in clinical trials with preclinical data supporting clinical translation as radiosensitizers. Here, we hypothesized that targeting both ATR and DNA-PK with small molecule inhibitors would increase radiosensitization of HNSCC cell lines. Radiosensitization was assessed by Bliss independence analysis of colony survival data. Strong cell cycle perturbing effects were observed with ATR inhibition reversing the G2/M arrest observed for radiation-DNA-PKi. Increased apoptosis in combination groups was measured by Sub-G1 DNA populations. DNA-PKi increased radiation-induced RAD51 and gamma-H2Ax foci, with the addition of ATR inhibition reducing levels of both. A sharp increase in nuclear fragmentation after aberrant mitotic transit appears to be the main driver of decreased survival due to irradiation and dual ATR/DNA-PKi. Dual inhibition of DNA-PK and ATR represents a novel approach in combination with radiation, with efficacy appearing to be independent of p53 status. Due to toxicity concerns, careful assessment is necessary in any future translation of single or dual radiosensitization approaches. Ongoing clinical trials into the ATR inhibitor AZD6738 plus radiation, and the phenotypically similar combination of AZD6738 and the PARP inhibitor olaparib, are likely to be key in ascertaining the toxicity profile of such combinations.
| S-EPMC6053502 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeEwing's sarcoma is a highly malignant childhood tumour whose outcome has hardly changed over the past two decades despite numerous attempts at chemotherapy intensification. It is therefore essential to identify new treatment options. The present study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of combined inhibition of two promising targets, ATR and ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), in Ewing's sarcoma cells.MethodsEffects of the ATR inhibitor VE821 in combination with the RNR inhibitors triapine and didox were assessed in three Ewing's sarcoma cell lines with different TP53 status (WE-68, SK-ES-1, A673) by flow cytometric analysis of cell death, mitochondrial depolarisation and cell cycle distribution as well as by caspase 3/7 activity determination, by immunoblotting and by real-time RT-PCR. Interactions between inhibitors were evaluated by combination index analysis.ResultsSingle ATR or RNR inhibitor treatment produced small to moderate effects, while their combined treatment produced strong synergistic ones. ATR and RNR inhibitors elicited synergistic cell death and cooperated in inducing mitochondrial depolarisation, caspase 3/7 activity and DNA fragmentation, evidencing an apoptotic form of cell death. All effects were independent of functional p53. In addition, VE821 in combination with triapine increased p53 level and induced p53 target gene expression (CDKN1A, BBC3) in p53 wild-type Ewing's sarcoma cells.ConclusionOur study reveals that combined targeting of ATR and RNR was effective against Ewing's sarcoma in vitro and thus rationalises an in vivo exploration into the potential of combining ATR and RNR inhibitors as a new strategy for the treatment of this challenging disease.
| S-EPMC10374484 | biostudies-literature