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Elman JS, Ni TK, Mengwasser KE, Jin D, Wronski A, Elledge SJ, Kuperwasser C. Identification of FUBP1 as a Long Tail Cancer Driver and Widespread Regulator of Tumor Suppressor and Oncogene Alternative Splicing. Cell Rep 2019; 28:3435-3449.e5. [PMID: 31553912 PMCID: PMC7297508 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.08.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Comprehensive sequencing approaches have allowed for the identification of the most frequent contributors to cancer, known as drivers. They have also revealed a class of mutations in understudied, infrequently altered genes, referred to as "long tail" (LT) drivers. A key challenge has been to find clinically relevant LT drivers and to understand how they cooperate to drive disease. Here, we identified far upstream binding protein 1 (FUBP1) as an LT driver using an in vivo CRISPR screen. FUBP1 cooperates with other tumor suppressor genes to transform mammary epithelial cells by disrupting cellular differentiation and tissue architecture. Mechanistically, FUBP1 participates in regulating N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation, and its loss leads to global changes in RNA splicing and widespread expression of aberrant driver isoforms. These findings suggest that somatic alteration of a single gene involved in RNA splicing and m6A methylation can produce the necessary panoply of contributors for neoplastic transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica S Elman
- Department of Developmental, Chemical and Molecular Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA; Raymond & Beverly Sackler Convergence Laboratory, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Thomas K Ni
- Department of Developmental, Chemical and Molecular Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA; Raymond & Beverly Sackler Convergence Laboratory, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Kristen E Mengwasser
- Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Dexter Jin
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Ania Wronski
- Department of Developmental, Chemical and Molecular Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA; Raymond & Beverly Sackler Convergence Laboratory, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Stephen J Elledge
- Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Ludwig Center at Harvard, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Genetics, Program in Virology, Harvard Medical School, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Charlotte Kuperwasser
- Department of Developmental, Chemical and Molecular Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA; Raymond & Beverly Sackler Convergence Laboratory, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
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Scully R, Panday A, Elango R, Willis NA. DNA double-strand break repair-pathway choice in somatic mammalian cells. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2019; 20:698-714. [PMID: 31263220 DOI: 10.1038/s41580-019-0152-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 766] [Impact Index Per Article: 153.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The major pathways of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair are crucial for maintaining genomic stability. However, if deployed in an inappropriate cellular context, these same repair functions can mediate chromosome rearrangements that underlie various human diseases, ranging from developmental disorders to cancer. The two major mechanisms of DSB repair in mammalian cells are non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination. In this Review, we consider DSB repair-pathway choice in somatic mammalian cells as a series of 'decision trees', and explore how defective pathway choice can lead to genomic instability. Stalled, collapsed or broken DNA replication forks present a distinctive challenge to the DSB repair system. Emerging evidence suggests that the 'rules' governing repair-pathway choice at stalled replication forks differ from those at replication-independent DSBs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph Scully
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology and Cancer Research Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Arvind Panday
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology and Cancer Research Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Rajula Elango
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology and Cancer Research Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nicholas A Willis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology and Cancer Research Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Porro A, Sartori AA. Context Matters: RNF168 Connects with PALB2 to Rewire Homologous Recombination in BRCA1 Haploinsufficiency. Mol Cell 2019; 73:1089-1091. [PMID: 30901561 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In this issue of Molecular Cell, Zong et al. (2019) reveal RNF168-driven chromatin ubiquitylation as a key back-up mechanism to sustain homologous recombination (HR) independently of BRCA1. These findings provide new clues to carcinogenesis and cancer therapy in BRCA1 heterozygous mutation carriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Porro
- Institute of Molecular Cancer Research, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro A Sartori
- Institute of Molecular Cancer Research, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
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Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors combined with other small-molecular compounds for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Anticancer Drugs 2019; 30:554-561. [PMID: 30998513 DOI: 10.1097/cad.0000000000000793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is a heterogeneous disease with complex molecular and genetic hallmarks. Benefitting from profound understanding of molecular mechanisms in ovarian cancer pathogenesis, novel targeted drugs have been actively explored in preclinical studies and clinical trials. Considered as one of the most potent and effective targeted therapies for the treatment of ovarian cancer, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPis) take advantages of synthetic lethality mechanisms to prevent DNA damage repair in cancer cells and cause their death, especially in cancers with BRCA mutations. Mounting evidence has indicated that the combination of PARPis with cytotoxic drugs or other targeted drugs has shown favorable synergistic effects. Excitingly, the antitumor activity of combination therapy of PARPis has been actively tested in multiple clinical trials and in-vitro or in-vivo experiments. In this review, we will briefly discuss the molecular mechanisms of PARPis combined with other therapeutic small-molecular compounds for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
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Reilly NM, Novara L, Di Nicolantonio F, Bardelli A. Exploiting DNA repair defects in colorectal cancer. Mol Oncol 2019; 13:681-700. [PMID: 30714316 PMCID: PMC6441925 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.12467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 01/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Therapies that take advantage of defects in DNA repair pathways have been explored in the context of breast, ovarian, and other tumor types, but not yet systematically in CRC. At present, only immune checkpoint blockade therapies have been FDA approved for use in mismatch repair-deficient colorectal tumors. Here, we discuss how systematic identification of alterations in DNA repair genes could provide new therapeutic opportunities for CRCs. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas Colon Adenocarcinoma (TCGA-COAD) and Rectal Adenocarcinoma (TCGA-READ) PanCancer Atlas datasets identified 141 (out of 528) cases with putative driver mutations in 29 genes associated with DNA damage response and repair, including the mismatch repair and homologous recombination pathways. Genetic defects in these pathways might confer repair-deficient characteristics, such as genomic instability in the absence of homologous recombination, which can be exploited. For example, inhibitors of poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase are effectively used to treat cancers that carry mutations in BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 and have shown promising results in CRC preclinical studies. HR deficiency can also occur in cells with no detectable BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations but exhibiting BRCA-like phenotypes. DNA repair-targeting therapies, such as ATR and CHK1 inhibitors (which are most effective against cancers carrying ATM mutations), can be used in combination with current genotoxic chemotherapies in CRCs to further improve therapy response. Finally, therapies that target alternative DNA repair mechanisms, such as thiopurines, also have the potential to confer increased sensitivity to current chemotherapy regimens, thus expanding the spectrum of therapy options and potentially improving clinical outcomes for CRC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole M. Reilly
- Fondazione Piemontese per la Ricerca sul Cancro ONLUSCandioloItaly
| | - Luca Novara
- Candiolo Cancer InstituteFPO‐IRCCSCandioloItaly
| | - Federica Di Nicolantonio
- Candiolo Cancer InstituteFPO‐IRCCSCandioloItaly
- Department of OncologyUniversity of TorinoCandioloItaly
| | - Alberto Bardelli
- Candiolo Cancer InstituteFPO‐IRCCSCandioloItaly
- Department of OncologyUniversity of TorinoCandioloItaly
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