Signalling inhibition by ponatinib disrupts alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT)
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE190438 | GEO | 2023/01/30
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) supports telomere maintenance and replicative immortality in around 10-15% of cancers, thus representing a compelling target for therapy.To identify anti-cancer drugs that can be repurposed as ALT-centered therapies, we performed for a compound library screen on isogenic cell lines that rely either on telomerase or ALT mechanisms. We validated candidates on a panel of ALT- vs. telomerase-positive sarcoma cells and assessed levels of extrachromosomal telomeric C-circles after drug treatment, as a bona fide marker of ALT activity. We identified a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor ponatinib that deregulated ALT mechanisms, increased telomeric replicative stress and induced telomeric dysfunction in ALT cells. Using a model of ALT sarcoma xenografts, we found that ponatinib targeted ALT-positive cells and mitigated telomere elongation in these tumors. To identify the mode of action of ponatinib on ALT, we performed RNA-sequencing and quantitative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses, and shortlisted candidates to test the effect of their loss on telomeric C-circle levels. We identified an ABL1-JNK-JUN signalling circuit to be inhibited by ponatinib and to have a role in suppressing extrachromosomal telomeric C-circle formation. Furthermore, transcriptome and interactome analyses of JUN suggested a role of JUN in DNA damage repair pathways, independently of its capacity as a transcription factor. These results were corroborated by new synergistic drug interactions between ponatinib and either DNA synthesis or repair inhibitors such as triciribine and KU-60019, respectively. Overall, we identified a novel signalling pathway impacting ALT which can be targeted by a clinically approved kinase inhibitor.
2023-02-20 | PXD037501 | Pride
Project description:Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) supports telomere maintenance and replicative immortality in around 10-15% of cancers, thus representing a compelling target for therapy.To identify anti-cancer drugs that can be repurposed as ALT-centered therapies, we performed for a compound library screen on isogenic cell lines that rely either on telomerase or ALT mechanisms. We validated candidates on a panel of ALT- vs. telomerase-positive sarcoma cells and assessed levels of extrachromosomal telomeric C-circles after drug treatment, as a bona fide marker of ALT activity. We identified a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor ponatinib that deregulated ALT mechanisms, increased telomeric replicative stress and induced telomeric dysfunction in ALT cells. Using a model of ALT sarcoma xenografts, we found that ponatinib targeted ALT-positive cells and mitigated telomere elongation in these tumors. To identify the mode of action of ponatinib on ALT, we performed RNA-sequencing and quantitative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses, and shortlisted candidates to test the effect of their loss on telomeric C-circle levels. We identified an ABL1-JNK-JUN signalling circuit to be inhibited by ponatinib and to have a role in suppressing extrachromosomal telomeric C-circle formation. Furthermore, transcriptome and interactome analyses of JUN suggested a role of JUN in DNA damage repair pathways, independently of its capacity as a transcription factor. These results were corroborated by new synergistic drug interactions between ponatinib and either DNA synthesis or repair inhibitors such as triciribine and KU-60019, respectively. Overall, we identified a novel signalling pathway impacting ALT which can be targeted by a clinically approved kinase inhibitor.
2022-03-14 | PXD032188 | Pride
Project description:Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) supports telomere maintenance in 10-15% of cancers, thus representing a compelling target for therapy. By performing anti-cancer compound library screen on isogenic cell lines and using extrachromosomal telomeric C-circles, as a bona fide marker of ALT activity, we identify a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor ponatinib that deregulates ALT mechanisms, induces telomeric dysfunction, reduced ALT-associated telomere synthesis, and targets, in vivo, ALT-positive cells. Using RNA-sequencing and quantitative phosphoproteomic analyses, combined with C-circle level assessment, we find an ABL1-JNK-JUN signalling circuit to be inhibited by ponatinib and to have a role in suppressing telomeric C-circles. Furthermore, transcriptome and interactome analyses suggest a role of JUN in DNA damage repair. These results are corroborated by synergistic drug interactions between ponatinib and either DNA synthesis or repair inhibitors, such as triciribine. Taken together, we describe here a signalling pathway impacting ALT which can be targeted by a clinically approved drug.
| S-EPMC10079688 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Signalling inhibition by ponatinib disrupts alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT)
| PRJNA787207 | ENA
Project description:The collapse of stalled replication forks is a major driver of genomic instability. Several committed mechanisms exist to resolve replication stress. These pathways are particularly pertinent at telomeres. Cancer cells that use Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) display heightened levels of telomere-specific replication stress, and co-opt stalled replication forks as substrates for break-induced telomere synthesis. FANCM is a DNA translocase that can form independent functional interactions with the BLM-TOP3A-RMI (BTR) complex and the Fanconi anemia (FA) core complex. Here, we demonstrate that FANCM depletion provokes ALT activity, evident by increased break-induced telomere synthesis, and the induction of ALT biomarkers. FANCM-mediated attenuation of ALT requires its inherent DNA translocase activity and interaction with the BTR complex, but does not require the FA core complex, indicative of FANCM functioning to restrain excessive ALT activity by ameliorating replication stress at telomeres. Synthetic inhibition of FANCM-BTR complex formation is selectively toxic to ALT cancer cells.
| S-EPMC6538672 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Telomeres are responsible for protecting chromosome ends in order to prevent the loss of coding DNA. Their maintenance is required for achieving immortality by neoplastic cells and can occur by upregulation of the telomerase enzyme or through a homologous recombination-associated process, the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). The precise mechanisms that govern the activation of ALT or telomerase in tumor cells are not fully understood, although cellular origin may favor one of the other mechanisms that have been found thus far in mutual exclusivity. Specific mutational events influence ALT activation and maintenance: a unifying frequent feature of tumors that acquire this phenotype are the recurrent mutations of the Alpha Thalassemia/Mental Retardation Syndrome X-Linked (ATRX) or Death-Domain Associated Protein (DAXX) genes. This review summarizes the established criteria about this phenotype: its prevalence, theoretical molecular mechanisms and relation with ATRX, DAXX and other proteins (directly or indirectly interacting and resulting in the ALT phenotype).
| S-EPMC5042396 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Telomere maintenance is an important genetic mechanism controlling cellular proliferation. Normally, telomeres are maintained by telomerase which is downregulated upon cellular differentiation in most somatic cell lineages. Telomerase activity is upregulated in immortalized cells and cancers to support an infinite lifespan and uncontrolled cell growth; however, some immortalized and transformed cells lack telomerase activity. Telomerase-negative tumors and immortalized cells utilize an alternative mechanism for maintaining telomeres termed alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). This research explored evidence for the ALT pathway in chicken cell lines by studying nontransformed immortalized cell lines (DF-1 and OU2) and comparing them to a normal (mortal) cell line and a transformed cell line (DT40). The research consisted of molecular and cellular analyses including profiling of telomeric DNA (array sizing and total content), telomerase activity, and expression of genes involved in the telomerase, recombination, and ALT pathways. In addition, an immunofluorescence analysis for an ALT marker, i.e. ALT-associated promyelocytic leukemia bodies (APBs), was conducted. Evidence for ALT was observed in the telomerase-negative immortalized cell lines. Additionally, the APB marker was also found in the other cell systems. The attributes of the chicken provide an additional vertebrate model for investigation of the ALT pathway.
| S-EPMC3214677 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is a telomere maintenance mechanism activated in ~10-15% of cancers, characterized by telomeric damage. Telomeric damage-induced long non-coding RNAs (dilncRNAs) are transcribed at dysfunctional telomeres and contribute to telomeric DNA damage response (DDR) activation and repair. Here we observed that telomeric dilncRNAs are preferentially elevated in ALT cells. Inhibition of C-rich (teloC) dilncRNAs with antisense oligonucleotides leads to DNA replication stress responses, increased genomic instability, and apoptosis induction selectively in ALT cells. Cell death is dependent on DNA replication and is increased by DNA replication stress. Mechanistically, teloC dilncRNA inhibition reduces RAD51 and 53BP1 recruitment to telomeres, boosts the engagement of BIR machinery, and increases C-circles and telomeric sister chromatid exchanges, without increasing telomeric non-S phase synthesis. These results indicate that teloC dilncRNA is necessary for a coordinated recruitment of DDR factors to ALT telomeres and it is essential for ALT cancer cells survival.
| S-EPMC10625592 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) occurs in ∼10% of cancer entities. However, little is known about the heterogeneity of ALT activity since robust ALT detection assays with high-throughput in situ readouts are lacking. Here, we introduce ALT-FISH, a method to quantitate ALT activity in single cells from the accumulation of single-stranded telomeric DNA and RNA. It involves a one-step fluorescent in situ hybridization approach followed by fluorescence microscopy imaging. Our method reliably identified ALT in cancer cell lines from different tumor entities and was validated in three established models of ALT induction and suppression. Furthermore, we successfully applied ALT-FISH to spatially resolve ALT activity in primary tissue sections from leiomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma tumors. Thus, our assay provides insights into the heterogeneity of ALT tumors and is suited for high-throughput applications, which will facilitate screening for ALT-specific drugs.
| S-EPMC9226501 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The presence of ALT is strongly associated with recurrent cancer-specific somatic inactivating mutations in the ATRX-DAXX chromatin remodeling complex. Here, we generate an ALT-positive adenocarcinoma cell line following functional inactivation of ATRX and telomerase in a telomerase-positive carcinoma cell line.
2019-09-25 | GSE129448 | GEO