Transient knock down of checkpoint kinase 1 in hematopoietic progenitors is linked to bone marrow toxicity

Everything Comes with a Price: The Toxicity Profile of DNA-Damage Response Targeting Agents

Simple Summary

DNA damage induces genome instability, which may elicit cancer development. Defects in the DNA repair machinery further enhance cancer predisposition, but can also be exploited as a therapeutic target. Indeed, targeted agents against specific components of DNA repair, such as PARP inhibitors, are employed in various tumor types, while others, such as ATR, CHK1 or WEE1 inhibitors, are in clinical development. Even though these molecules have proven to be effective in different settings, they display several on- and off-target toxicities, shared by the whole pharmacological class or are drug specific. Among these effects, hematological and gastrointestinal toxicities are the most common, while others are less frequent but potentially life-threatening (e.g., myelodysplastic syndromes). Particular caution is needed in the case of combinatorial therapeutic approaches, which are currently being developed in clinical trials. In any case, it is necessary to recognize and properly manage adverse events of these drugs. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the safety profile of DDR-targeting agents, including indications for their management in clinical practice.

Abstract

Targeting the inherent vulnerability of cancer cells with an impaired DNA Damage Repair (DDR) machinery, Poly-ADP-Ribose-Polymerase (PARP) inhibitors have yielded significant results in several tumor types, eventually entering clinical practice for the treatment of ovarian, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer. More recently, inhibitors of other key components of DNA repair, such as ATR, CHK1 and WEE1, have been developed and are currently under investigation in clinical trials. The inhibition of DDR inevitably induces on-target and off-target adverse events. Hematological and gastrointestinal toxicities as well as fatigue are common with all DDR-targeting agents, while other adverse events are drug specific, such as hypertension with niraparib and transaminase elevation with rucaparib. Cases of pneumonitis and secondary hematological malignancies have been reported with PARP inhibitors and, despite being overly rare, they deserve particular attention due to their severity. Safety also represents a crucial issue for the development of combination regimens incorporating DDR-targeting agents with other treatments, such as chemotherapy, anti-angiogenics or immunotherapy. As such, overlapping and cumulative toxicities should be considered, especially when more than two classes of drugs are combined. Here, we review the safety profile of DDR-targeting agents when used as single agents or in combination and we provide principles of toxicity management.

Diallyl disulfide selectively causes checkpoint kinase-1 mediated G2/M arrest in human MGC803 gastric cancer cell line

Previous studies have shown that diallyl disulfide (DADS), a naturally occurring anticancer agent in garlic, arrested human gastric cancer cells (MGC803) in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. Due to the importance of cell cycle redistribution in DADS-mediated anticarcinogenic effects, we investigated the role of checkpoint kinases (Chk1 and Chk2) during DADS-induced cell cycle arrest. In the present study, the northern blot analysis showed that mRNA expression of for Chkl and Chk2 was unchanged. Notably, DADS induced the accumulation of phosphorylated Chk1, but not of Chk2, activated phospho-ATR (ATM-RAD3-related gene), and dowregulated CDC25C and cyclin B1 expression. Furthermore, CDC25C was immunoprecipitated by anti-Chk1 but not anti-Chk2. Results of the overexpression and knockdown studies, showed that Chk1 but not Chk2 regulated the DADS-induced G2/M arrest of MGC803 cells. The overexpression of Chk1 resulted in significantly increased DADS-induced G2/M arrest, increased DADS-induced Chk1 phosphorylation and inhibited CDC25C expression. Knockdown of Chk1 reduced DADS‑induced G2/M arrest and blocked the DADS-induced inhibition of CDC25C and cyclin B1 expression. These results suggested that Chk1 is important in DADS‑induced cell cycle G2/M arrest in the human MGC803 gastric cancer cell line. Furthermore, the DADS-induced G2/M checkpoint response is mediated by Chk1 signaling through ATR/Chk1/CDC25C/cyclin B1.

siRNA delivery via electropulsation: a review of the basic processes

Due to their capacity for inducing strong and sequence specific gene silencing in cells, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are now recognized not only as powerful experimental tools for basic research in Molecular biology but with promising potentials in therapeutic development. Delivery is a bottleneck in many studies. There is a common opinion that full potential of siRNA as therapeutic agent will not be attained until better methodologies for its targeted intracellular delivery to cells and tissues are developed. Electropulsation (EP) is one of the physical methods successfully used to transfer siRNA into living cells in vitro and in vivo. This review will describe how siRNA electrotransfer obeys characterized biophysical processes (cell-size-dependent electropermeabilization, electrophoretic drag) with a strong control of a low loss of viability. Protocols can be easily adjusted by a proper setting of the electrical parameters and pulsing buffers. EP can be easily directly applied on animals. Preclinical studies showed that electropermeabilization brings a direct cytoplasmic distribution of siRNA and an efficient silencing of the targeted protein expression. EP appears as a promising tool for clinical applications of gene silencing. A panel of successful trials will be given.