Chun-Mei Hu

A novel small molecule RAD51 inactivator overcomes imatinib‐resistance in chronic myeloid leukaemia

RAD51 recombinase activity plays a critical role for cancer cell proliferation and survival, and often contributes to drug‐resistance. Abnormally elevated RAD51 function and hyperactive homologous recombination (HR) rates have been found in a panel of cancers, including breast cancer and chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Directly targeting RAD51 and attenuating the deregulated RAD51 activity has therefore been proposed as an alternative and supplementary strategy for cancer treatment. Here we show that a newly identified small molecule, IBR2, disrupts RAD51 multimerization, accelerates proteasome‐mediated RAD51 protein degradation, reduces ionizing radiation‐induced RAD51 foci formation, impairs HR, inhibits cancer cell growth and induces apoptosis. In a murine imatinib‐resistant CML model bearing the T315I Bcr‐abl mutation, IBR2, but not imatinib, significantly prolonged animal survival. Moreover, IBR2 effectively inhibits the proliferation of CD34+ progenitor cells from CML patients resistant to known BCR‐ABL inhibitors. Therefore, small molecule inhibitors of RAD51 may suggest a novel class of broad‐spectrum therapeutics for difficult‐to‐treat cancers.

Tumor Cells Require Thymidylate Kinase to Prevent dUTP Incorporation during DNA Repair

The synthesis of dTDP is unique because there is a requirement for thymidylate kinase (TMPK). All other dNDPs including dUDP are directly produced by ribonucleotide reductase (RNR). We report the binding of TMPK and RNR at sites of DNA damage. In tumor cells, when TMPK function is blocked, dUTP is incorporated during DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. Disrupting RNR recruitment to damage sites or reducing the expression of the R2 subunit of RNR prevents the impairment of DNA repair by TMPK intervention, indicating that RNR contributes to dUTP incorporation during DSB repair. We identified a cell-permeable nontoxic inhibitor of TMPK that sensitizes tumor cells to doxorubicin in vitro and in vivo, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic option.

Synthetic Lethality by Lentiviral Short Hairpin RNA Silencing of Thymidylate Kinase and Doxorubicin in Colon Cancer Cells Regardless of the p53 Status

Intracellular supply of dTTP is a highly regulated process and has been a key target for chemotherapeutic drug development. Thymidylate kinase (TMPK) is the key enzyme for dTTP formation in both de novo and salvage pathways. In this study, we used lentiviral-based small hairpin RNA to silence TMPK expression in p53(+/+) and p53(-/-) HCT-116 colon cancer cells. This approach was sufficient to decrease the dTTP pool gradually without affecting p53 expression and generating cytotoxicity. TMPK knockdown significantly increased doxorubicin sensitivity dramatically in p53-proficient, p53-null HCT-116, and LoVo colon cancer cells. The decrease in the dTTP pool using this approach augmented the DNA damage response and enhanced apoptotic induction after exposure to low-dose doxorubicin, leading to cell death. In contrast, silencing of thymidylate synthase which blocks the de novo pathway was incapable of sensitizing p53-null HCT-116 cells to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis because of the compensation by the salvage pathway. Our results suggest the lentiviral delivery of small hairpin RNA targeting TMPK in combination with a low dose of doxorubicin as a new approach to kill colon cancer cells regardless of p53 status.

A bioluminescent method for measuring thymidylate kinase activity suitable for high-throughput screening of inhibitor.

Blocking human thymidylate kinase (TMPK) function has a chemosensitization effect in anticancer treatment. However, a rapid and sensitive TMPK activity assay method suitable for inhibitor screening has been lacking. We have designed a luciferase-coupled TMPK assay in which luminescence emission is proportional to the magnitude of TMPK inhibition. The advantages of using this new method over the conventional nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (reduced form, NADH)-coupling method in screening inhibitor include low cost, low limit in detecting inhibitory signal, more accurate, and devoid of interference due to compound absorbance at 340 nm.

Complementary interhelical interactions between three buried Glu-Lys pairs within three heptad repeats are essential for Hec1-Nuf2 heterodimerization and mitotic progression.

Background: Hec1 and Nuf2 are components of the NDC80 complex essential for faithful chromosome segregation. Results: Three contiguous heptad repeats with buried interhelical Glu-Lys pairs are required for Hec1-Nuf2 dimerization, NDC80 complex formation, and mitotic progression. Conclusion: Interhelical electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions define specificity and stability requirements for Hec1-Nuf2 dimerization. Significance: The results elucidate how Hec1-Nuf2 dimerize and provide insight into NDC80 complex formation. Hec1 and Nuf2, core components of the NDC80 complex, are essential for kinetochore-microtubule attachment and chromosome segregation. It has been shown that both Hec1 and Nuf2 utilize their coiled-coil domains to form a functional dimer; however, details of the consequential significance and structural requirements to form the dimerization interface have yet to be elucidated. Here, we showed that Hec1 required three contiguous heptad repeats from Leu-324 to Leu-352, but not the entire first coiled-coil domain, to ensure overall stability of the NDC80 complex through direct interaction with Nuf2. Substituting the hydrophobic core residues, Leu-331, Val-338, and Ile-345, of Hec1 with alanine completely eliminated Nuf2 binding and blocked mitotic progression. Moreover, unlike most coiled-coil proteins, where the buried positions are composed of hydrophobic residues, Hec1 possessed an unusual distribution of glutamic acid residues, Glu-334, Glu-341, and Glu-348, buried within the interior dimerization interface, which complement with three Nuf2 lysine residues: Lys-227, Lys-234, and Lys-241. Substituting these corresponding residues with alanine diminished the binding affinity between Hec1 and Nuf2, compromised NDC80 complex formation, and adversely affected mitotic progression. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that three buried glutamic acid-lysine pairs, in concert with hydrophobic interactions of core residues, provide the major specificity and stability requirements for Hec1-Nuf2 dimerization and NDC80 complex formation.