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Mutant RB1 enhances therapeutic efficacy of PARPis in lung adenocarcinoma by triggering the cGAS/STING pathway
Qi Dong, Tong Yu, Bo Chen, Mingyue Liu, Xiang Sun, Huiying Cao, Kaidong Liu, Huanhuan Xu, Yuquan Wang, Shuping Zhuang, Zixin Jin, Haihai Liang, Yang Hui, Yunyan Gu
Qi Dong, Tong Yu, Bo Chen, Mingyue Liu, Xiang Sun, Huiying Cao, Kaidong Liu, Huanhuan Xu, Yuquan Wang, Shuping Zhuang, Zixin Jin, Haihai Liang, Yang Hui, Yunyan Gu
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Research Article Genetics Therapeutics

Mutant RB1 enhances therapeutic efficacy of PARPis in lung adenocarcinoma by triggering the cGAS/STING pathway

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Abstract

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) are approved for cancer therapy according to their synthetic lethal interactions, and clinical trials have been applied in non–small cell lung cancer. However, the therapeutic efficacy of PARPis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is still unknown. We explored the effect of a mutated retinoblastoma gene (RB1) on PARPi sensitivity in LUAD. Bioinformatic screening was performed to identify PARPi-sensitive biomarkers. Here, we showed that viability of LUAD cell lines with mutated RB1 was significantly decreased by PARPis (niraparib, rucaparib, and olaparib). RB1 deficiency induced genomic instability, prompted cytosolic double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) formation, activated the cGAS/STING pathway, and upregulated downstream chemokines CCL5 and CXCL10, triggering immune cell infiltration. Xenograft experiments indicated that PARPi treatment reduced tumorigenesis in RB1-KO mice. Additionally, single-cell RNA sequencing analysis showed that malignant cells with downregulated expression of RB1 had more communications with other cell types, exhibiting activation of specific signaling such as GAS, IFN response, and antigen-presenting and cytokine activities. Our findings suggest that RB1 mutation mediates the sensitivity to PARPis through a synthetic lethal effect by triggering the cGAS/STING pathway and upregulation of immune infiltration in LUAD, which may be a potential therapeutic strategy.

Authors

Qi Dong, Tong Yu, Bo Chen, Mingyue Liu, Xiang Sun, Huiying Cao, Kaidong Liu, Huanhuan Xu, Yuquan Wang, Shuping Zhuang, Zixin Jin, Haihai Liang, Yang Hui, Yunyan Gu

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Figure 7

RB1 KO enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of PARPi in LUAD xenograft.

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RB1 KO enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of PARPi in LUAD xenograft.
(A...
(A) Tumor volumes of 4 treatment groups with A549-RB1-WT (100 μL PBS), A549-RB1-KO (100 μL PBS), A549-RB1-WT + rucaparib (60 μL DMSO, 240 μL PEG 300, 30 μL Tween 80, 270 μL normal saline, 1.08 mg rucaparib every 2 days) and A549-RB1-KO + rucaparib (60 μL DMSO, 240 μL PEG 300, 30 μL Tween 80, 270 μL normal saline, 1.08 mg rucaparib every 2 days). (B) The tumor growth curves of 4 treatment groups for 30 days. **P < 0.01. (C) Representative images of IHC staining in LUAD xenograft samples. Scale bars: 50 μm. (D) Western blot analysis of proteins in the STING pathway in LUAD xenograft samples (n = 3). (E and F) qRT-PCR analysis of CCL5 and CXCL10 mRNAs in A549-RB1-WT and A549-RB1-KO cells after treatment with PARPis in mice (n = 5). *P < 0.05 vs. A549-RB1-WT + rucaparib. P values in D–F were calculated by unpaired, 2-tailed Student’s t test.

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