[PDF][PDF] Inhibiting WEE1 selectively kills histone H3K36me3-deficient cancers by dNTP starvation

SX Pfister, E Markkanen, Y Jiang, S Sarkar… - Cancer cell, 2015 - cell.com
SX Pfister, E Markkanen, Y Jiang, S Sarkar, M Woodcock, G Orlando, I Mavrommati, CC Pai
Cancer cell, 2015cell.com
Summary Histone H3K36 trimethylation (H3K36me3) is frequently lost in multiple cancer
types, identifying it as an important therapeutic target. Here we identify a synthetic lethal
interaction in which H3K36me3-deficient cancers are acutely sensitive to WEE1 inhibition.
We show that RRM2, a ribonucleotide reductase subunit, is the target of this synthetic lethal
interaction. RRM2 is regulated by two pathways here: first, H3K36me3 facilitates RRM2
expression through transcription initiation factor recruitment; second, WEE1 inhibition …
Summary
Histone H3K36 trimethylation (H3K36me3) is frequently lost in multiple cancer types, identifying it as an important therapeutic target. Here we identify a synthetic lethal interaction in which H3K36me3-deficient cancers are acutely sensitive to WEE1 inhibition. We show that RRM2, a ribonucleotide reductase subunit, is the target of this synthetic lethal interaction. RRM2 is regulated by two pathways here: first, H3K36me3 facilitates RRM2 expression through transcription initiation factor recruitment; second, WEE1 inhibition degrades RRM2 through untimely CDK activation. Therefore, WEE1 inhibition in H3K36me3-deficient cells results in RRM2 reduction, critical dNTP depletion, S-phase arrest, and apoptosis. Accordingly, this synthetic lethality is suppressed by increasing RRM2 expression or inhibiting RRM2 degradation. Finally, we demonstrate that WEE1 inhibitor AZD1775 regresses H3K36me3-deficient tumor xenografts.
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