Abstract IA27: Exploiting the inhibition of cullin-RING-ligases in DSB repair as a therapeutic strategy

While single component E3 ubiquitin ligases have established roles in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair, the function of multicomponent cullin-RING-ligases (CRL) in DSB repair is only beginning to emerge. FBXW7 is a substrate recognition component of Skp1-Cullin1-F-box E3 ubiquitin ligases previously known only to regulate the proteasomal degradation of substrates such as Cyclin E and MCL1. Given that FBXW7 loss promotes genomic instability, we hypothesized that FBXW7 may have a direct function in DSB repair. To establish the functions of FBXW7 in DSB repair, we first demonstrated the rapid localization of FBXW7 to DSB sites in an ATM-dependent manner. Subsequently, we found that FBXW7 depletion impaired nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ), but not homologous recombination (HR) repair, resulting in persistent radiation-induced DSBs. Investigation of the molecular mechanisms of FBXW7 in NHEJ revealed that FBXW7 interacts with and promotes K63-linked ubiquitination of XRCC4. This ubiquitination of XRCC4 promotes interaction between the XRCC4/XLF/LIG4 and DNAPK/KU70/KU80 complexes to facilitate NHEJ. To begin to therapeutically leverage this mechanism, strategies to both pharmacologically inhibit FBXW7-CRLs and to exploit FBXW7 mutations occurring in human cancers are being developed. To address the former, pevonedistat (MLN4924), an agent which inhibits CRLs via inhibition of cullin-neddylation, inhibits FBXW7-mediated XRCC4 ubiquitination and NHEJ. This activity leads to incre...
Source: Molecular Cancer Research - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Novel Approaches to Targeting DNA Repair: Oral Presentations - Invited Abstracts Source Type: research