The dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 is a potent inhibitor of ATM- and DNA-PKCs-mediated DNA damage responses

Neoplasia. 2012 Jan;14(1):34-43. doi: 10.1593/neo.111512.

Abstract

Inhibitors of PI3K/Akt signaling are being actively developed for tumor therapy owing to the frequent mutational activation of the PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 pathway in many cancers, including glioblastomas (GBMs). NVP-BEZ235 is a novel and potent dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor that is currently in phase 1/2 clinical trials for advanced solid tumors. Here, we show that NVP-BEZ235 also potently inhibits ATM and DNA-PKcs, the two major kinases responding to ionizing radiation (IR)-induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Consequently, NVP-BEZ235 blocks both nonhomologous end joining and homologous recombination DNA repair pathways resulting in significant attenuation of DSB repair. In addition, phosphorylation of ATMtargets and implementation of the G(2)/M cell cycle checkpoint are also attenuated by this drug. As a result, NVP-BEZ235 confers an extreme degree of radiosensitization and impairs DSB repair in a panel of GBM cell lines irrespective of their Akt activation status. NVP-BEZ235 also significantly impairs DSB repair in a mouse tumor model thereby validating the efficacy of this drug as a DNA repair inhibitor in vivo. Our results, showing that NVP-BEZ235 is a potent and novel inhibitor of ATM and DNA-PKcs, have important implications for the informed and rational design of clinical trials involving this drug and also reveal the potential utility of NVP-BEZ235 as an effective radiosensitizer for GBMs in the clinic.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Cell Separation
  • DNA Damage / drug effects
  • DNA Repair / drug effects*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique
  • Humans
  • Imidazoles / pharmacology*
  • Mice
  • Neoplasms, Experimental / drug therapy
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
  • Protein Kinase C / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Quinolines / pharmacology*
  • Radiation-Sensitizing Agents / pharmacology*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Imidazoles
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
  • Quinolines
  • Radiation-Sensitizing Agents
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins
  • ATM protein, human
  • Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins
  • Atm protein, mouse
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Protein Kinase C
  • dactolisib