Project description:Breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2) deleterious mutations confer sensitivity to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition due to its critical role in DNA repair. PARP inhibitor Olaparib is now approved and several other PARP inhibitors are now in different stages of clinical trials. Development of resistance to PARP inhibitors limits their clinical utility. The mechanism of resistance remains not fully understood. Here we show that amplification of mutant BRCA2 confers PARP inhibitor resistance. The amplification of mutant BRCA2 gene copies correlates with an increase in mutant BRCA2 expression and an increase in the levels of its interacting proteins PALB2 and RAD51. In addition, homologous recombination mediated DNA repair is rescued in these cells as evidenced by the formation of RAD51 focus formation. The overexpressed mutant BRCA2 is essential for the observed PARP inhibitor resistance because knockdown of its expression is sufficient to re-sensitize these cells to PARP inhibition. Collectively, our results indicate a new mechanism of resistance to PARP inhibitor in BRCA2 mutant cancer cells
Project description:The PARP family of proteins comprises 17 members, about two thirds of which are active mono- or poly(ADP-ribosyl)transferase enzymes that transfer the ADP-ribose moiety of NAD+ onto target proteins. In many cases, ADP-ribosylation, which plays critical roles in human diseases (e.g., cancer, heart disease, and neuropathies) is associated with abrogation of the molecular functions of the target. Discerning ADP-ribosylation events mediated by a specific PARP is challenging, since all PARPs use the same substrate (i.e., NAD+) and the available inhibitors lack the specificity needed to make such conclusions. In order to identify the direct and specific targets of individual PARP family members, we have developed a chemical and genetic approach known as analog sensitivity, in which alteration of a single conserved amino acid in the active site of the PARP protein creates a pocket that allows use of an unnatural NAD+ analog containing a steric moiety. We have functionalized the steric moiety with alkyne for use in click chemistry reactions. This approach, which is transferable to other PARP family members, creates substrate specificity where none previously existed, allowing PARP-specific post-translational modification followed by target visualization, or isolation of ADP-ribosylated targets using click chemistry techniques. We have used this technology in conjunction with mass spectrometry to identify hundreds of targets both unique to, as well as shared among, the nuclear PARP proteins, PARP-1, PARP-2, and PARP-3. We have also determined the genome-wide distribution of PARP-1-specific ADP-ribosylation by coupling this analog-sensitive PARP approach with chromatin cross-linking in method that we call “Click-ChIP-seq”. We observed that PARP-1-specific ADP-ribosylation is enriched at transcriptionally active promoters in proximity to sites of PARP-1 enrichment. In addition, we observed that NELF, an important regulator of RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) pausing, is not only a target of ADP-ribosylation by PARP-1 but also spatially correlated with chromatin-associated ADP-ribose and PARP-1 in Click-ChIP-seq and ChIP-seq assays, respectively. Given these observations, we hypothesized that ADP-ribosylation might modulate NELF function and result altered Pol II pausing. We have explored this possibility using global run-on coupled with deep sequencing (GRO-seq) in MCF-7 cells in which PARP-1 was depleted by RNAi-mediated knockdown. PARP-1 depletion caused an increase in Pol II pausing genome-wide. Taken together, these results suggest the intriguing possibility that ADP-ribosylation of NELF by PARP-1 may be an important and heretofore unknown step in the release of Pol II into productive elongation.
Project description:The PARP family of proteins comprises 17 members, about two thirds of which are active mono- or poly(ADP-ribosyl)transferase enzymes that transfer the ADP-ribose moiety of NAD+ onto target proteins. In many cases, ADP-ribosylation, which plays critical roles in human diseases (e.g., cancer, heart disease, and neuropathies) is associated with abrogation of the molecular functions of the target. Discerning ADP-ribosylation events mediated by a specific PARP is challenging, since all PARPs use the same substrate (i.e., NAD+) and the available inhibitors lack the specificity needed to make such conclusions. In order to identify the direct and specific targets of individual PARP family members, we have developed a chemical and genetic approach known as analog sensitivity, in which alteration of a single conserved amino acid in the active site of the PARP protein creates a pocket that allows use of an unnatural NAD+ analog containing a steric moiety. We have functionalized the steric moiety with alkyne for use in click chemistry reactions. This approach, which is transferable to other PARP family members, creates substrate specificity where none previously existed, allowing PARP-specific post-translational modification followed by target visualization, or isolation of ADP-ribosylated targets using click chemistry techniques. We have used this technology in conjunction with mass spectrometry to identify hundreds of targets both unique to, as well as shared among, the nuclear PARP proteins, PARP-1, PARP-2, and PARP-3. We have also determined the genome-wide distribution of PARP-1-specific ADP-ribosylation by coupling this analog-sensitive PARP approach with chromatin cross-linking in method that we call “Click-ChIP-seq”. We observed that PARP-1-specific ADP-ribosylation is enriched at transcriptionally active promoters in proximity to sites of PARP-1 enrichment. In addition, we observed that NELF, an important regulator of RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) pausing, is not only a target of ADP-ribosylation by PARP-1 but also spatially correlated with chromatin-associated ADP-ribose and PARP-1 in Click-ChIP-seq and ChIP-seq assays, respectively. Given these observations, we hypothesized that ADP-ribosylation might modulate NELF function and result altered Pol II pausing. We have explored this possibility using global run-on coupled with deep sequencing (GRO-seq) in MCF-7 cells in which PARP-1 was depleted by RNAi-mediated knockdown. PARP-1 depletion caused an increase in Pol II pausing genome-wide. Taken together, these results suggest the intriguing possibility that ADP-ribosylation of NELF by PARP-1 may be an important and heretofore unknown step in the release of Pol II into productive elongation.
Project description:Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-2 (PARP-2) is acknowledged as a DNA repair enzyme; however, recently metabolic properties had been attributed to it. Hereby, we examined the metabolic consequences of PARP-2 ablation in liver. Microarray analysis of PARP-2 knockdown HepG2 cells revealed the dysregulation of lipid and cholesterol metabolism genes. Induction of cholesterol biosynthesis genes stemmed from the enhanced expression of sterol-regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-1. We revealed that PARP-2 is a suppressor of the SREBP-1 promoter, therefore ablation of PARP-2 induces SREBP-1 expression and consequently cholesterol synthesis. PARP-2-/- mice had higher SREBP-1 expression that was translated into enhanced hepatic and serum cholesterol levels. PARP-2 silencing was performed employing shPARP-2 (small hairpin) and scPARP-2 (scrambled) shRNA by lentiviral delivery (Sigma) using 40 MOI lentiviruses coding shRNA sequence against PARP-2.
Project description:Functionally characterizing the genetic alterations that drive pancreatic cancer progression is a prerequisite for precision pedicine. Here, we developed a somatic CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis screen to assess the transforming potential of 125 recurrently mutated ‘long-tail’ pancreatic cancer genes, which revealed USP15 and SCAF1 as novel and potent pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma PDAC tumor suppressors, with USP15 functioning in a haplo-insufficient manner. Mechanistically, we found that loss of USP15 leads to reduced inflammatory responses associated with TNFa, TGF-b and IL6 signaling and sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to PARP inhibition and Gemcitabine. Similarly, genetic ablation of SCAF1 reduced inflammatory responses linked to TNFa, TGF-b and mTOR signaling and increased sensitivity to PARP inhibition. Furthermore, we identified that loss of SCAF1 resulted in the formation of a truncated inactive USP15 isoform at the expense of full length USP15, functionally coupling SCAF1 and USP15. Notably, USP15 and SCAF1 mutations or copy number losses are observed in 31% of PDAC patients. Together, our results demonstrate the utility of in vivo CRISPR screens to integrate human cancer genomics with mouse modeling for selective discovery of novel cancer driver genes such as USP15 and SCAF1 with potential prognostic and therapeutic implications.
Project description:Polyadenosine-diphosphate-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors cause deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage that can be lethal to cells with deficient repair mechanisms. A number of PARP inhibitors are being tested as treatments for men with prostate cancer, both as monotherapies and in combinations that are based on purported synergies in treatment effect. While the initial single-agent development focused on men with identified deficiencies in DNA-repair pathways, broader patient populations are being considered for combination approaches. This review summarizes the current clinical development of PARP inhibitors and explores the rationale for novel combination strategies.