DNA-PK Inhibitor Peposertib Amplifies Radiation-Induced Inflammatory Micronucleation and Enhances TGFβ/PD-L1 Targeted Cancer Immunotherapy

Autor: Michael I. Carr, Li-Ya Chiu, Yige Guo, Chunxiao Xu, Adam S. Lazorchak, Huakui Yu, Guozhong Qin, Jin Qi, Bo Marelli, Yan Lan, Qing Sun, Frank Czauderna, Frank T. Zenke, Andree Blaukat, Lyubomir T. Vassilev
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Molecular Cancer Research. 20:568-582
ISSN: 1557-3125
1541-7786
DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-21-0612
Popis: Radiotherapy is the most widely used cancer treatment and improvements in its efficacy and safety are highly sought-after. Peposertib (also known as M3814), a potent and selective DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) inhibitor, effectively suppresses the repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) and regresses human xenograft tumors in preclinical models. Irradiated cancer cells devoid of p53 activity are especially sensitive to the DNA-PK inhibitor, as they lose a key cell-cycle checkpoint circuit and enter mitosis with unrepaired DSBs, leading to catastrophic consequences. Here, we show that inhibiting the repair of DSBs induced by ionizing radiation with peposertib offers a powerful new way for improving radiotherapy by simultaneously enhancing cancer cell killing and response to a bifunctional TGFβ “trap”/anti-PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy. By promoting chromosome misalignment and missegregation in p53-deficient cancer cells with unrepaired DSBs, DNA-PK inhibitor accelerated micronuclei formation, a key generator of cytosolic DNA and activator of cGAS/STING-dependent inflammatory signaling as it elevated PD-L1 expression in irradiated cancer cells. Triple combination of radiation, peposertib, and bintrafusp alfa, a fusion protein simultaneously inhibiting the profibrotic TGFβ and immunosuppressive PD-L1 pathways was superior to dual combinations and suggested a novel approach to more efficacious radioimmunotherapy of cancer. Implications: Selective inhibition of DNA-PK in irradiated cancer cells enhances inflammatory signaling and activity of dual TGFβ/PD-L1 targeted therapy and may offer a more efficacious combination option for the treatment of locally advanced solid tumors.
Databáze: OpenAIRE