Aberrant ATM signaling and homology-directed DNA repair as a vulnerability of p53-mutant GBM to AZD1390-mediated radiosensitization

Sci Transl Med. 2024 Feb 14;16(734):eadj5962. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adj5962. Epub 2024 Feb 14.

Abstract

ATM is a key mediator of radiation response, and pharmacological inhibition of ATM is a rational strategy to radiosensitize tumors. AZD1390 is a brain-penetrant ATM inhibitor and a potent radiosensitizer. This study evaluated the spectrum of radiosensitizing effects and the impact of TP53 mutation status in a panel of IDH1 wild-type (WT) glioblastoma (GBM) patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). AZD1390 suppressed radiation-induced ATM signaling, abrogated G0-G1 arrest, and promoted a proapoptotic response specifically in p53-mutant GBM in vitro. In a preclinical trial using 10 orthotopic GBM models, AZD1390/RT afforded benefit in a cohort of TP53-mutant tumors but not in TP53-WT PDXs. In mechanistic studies, increased endogenous DNA damage and constitutive ATM signaling were observed in TP53-mutant, but not in TP53-WT, PDXs. In plasmid-based reporter assays, GBM43 (TP53-mutant) showed elevated DNA repair capacity compared with that in GBM14 (p53-WT), whereas treatment with AZD1390 specifically suppressed homologous recombination (HR) efficiency, in part, by stalling RAD51 unloading. Furthermore, overexpression of a dominant-negative TP53 (p53DD) construct resulted in enhanced basal ATM signaling, HR activity, and AZD1390-mediated radiosensitization in GBM14. Analyzing RNA-seq data from TCGA showed up-regulation of HR pathway genes in TP53-mutant human GBM. Together, our results imply that increased basal ATM signaling and enhanced dependence on HR represent a unique susceptibility of TP53-mutant cells to ATM inhibitor-mediated radiosensitization.

MeSH terms

  • Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins / metabolism
  • DNA Repair / genetics
  • Glioblastoma* / drug therapy
  • Glioblastoma* / genetics
  • Glioblastoma* / radiotherapy
  • Humans
  • Pyridines*
  • Quinolones*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53* / genetics
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53* / metabolism

Substances

  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
  • AZD1390
  • Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins
  • ATM protein, human
  • Pyridines
  • Quinolones