Thèse (Ph. D.)--Université Laval, 2003. / Bibliogr. Publié aussi en version électronique.

Thèse (Ph. D.)--Université Laval, 2003. / Bibliogr.: f. [166]-176. Publié aussi en version électronique.

Assim como o número de casos de câncer vem aumentando em nível global, a busca por abordagens terapêuticas visando uma maior eficácia com um menor poder de causar efeitos prejudiciais aos pacientes também vem crescendo. As antraciclinas e antracenodionas, as quais tem como exemplos, doxorrubicina (DOX) e mitoxantrona (MTX), respectivamente, são fármacos utilizados na quimioterapia em diversas neoplasias incluindo tumores sólidos e não sólidos tais como de mama, leucemias, linfomas, sarcomas etc. Embora sejam eficazes ao que se propõem, o tratamento com estas moléculas pode acarretar em efeitos secundários, tais como arritmias e insuficiência cardíaca. Estas drogas além de interagirem com o ferro e apresentarem capacidade de gerar espécies reativas de oxigénio (ROS), apresentam como principal mecanismo a inibição da enzima topoisomerase 2 (Top2). Os inibidores de PARP-1 emergiram como uma nova alternativa para tratar determinados tipos de neoplasias em que a letalidade sintética possa ser explorada. Além disto, já foi relatado que a toxicidade cardíaca induzida por DOX seja influenciada pela atividade de PARP-1. O objetivo desta tese foi, portanto, avaliar a influência da inibição de PARP-1 na toxicidade cardíaca de DOX e MTX em células cardíacas. Células foram incubadas durante 24h com DOX ou MTX na presença ou na ausência de inibidor de PARP-1. Ensaios de viabilidade, apoptose e genotoxicidade e foram realizados. Além disso, a fosforilação de proteínas envolvidas na resposta a danos no DNA (ATM, MRE-11 e H2AX) foram avaliadas por western blot e imunofluorescência. Os resultados demonstraram que a inibição de PARP-1, apesar de diminuir a concentração de ROS, diminui a viabilidade de células H9c2 tratadas com DOX ou MTX por aumentar a geração de quebras duplas no DNA induzida por estes fármacos. / As the number of people with cancer are globally increasing, the search for therapeutic approaches that increases efficiency decreasing harmful effects to patients is also growing, giving rise to cardio-oncology. Anthracyclines, e.g., doxorubicin (DOX), and anthracenediones, e.g., mitoxantrone (MTX), are drugs used in the chemotherapy of several cancer types, including solid and non-solid malignancies such as breast cancer, leukemia, lymphomas, and sarcomas. Although they are effective in tumor therapy, treatment with these two drugs may lead to side effects such as arrhythmia and heart failure. These drugs interact with iron to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), target topoisomerase 2 (Top2), and impair mitochondria. PARP-1 inhibitors have emerged as a new alternative for treating certain types of malignancies in which the synthetic lethality can be exploited. Furthermore, it has been reported that DOX-induced cardiac cardiotoxicity is influenced by PARP-1 activity. The main goal of this thesis was, therefore, to evaluate PARP-1 inhibition influence in cardiac toxicity of DOX and MTX in cardiac cells. Cells were incubated for 24h with MTX or DOX in presence or absence of PARP-1 inhibitor. Viability, oxidative stress and genotoxicity assays have been conducted. Furthermore, phosphorylation of proteins involved in response to DNA damage (ATM, H2AX and MRE-11) were evaluated by western blot and immunofluorescence. Results demonstrated that inhibition of PARP-1, although decreasing ROS generation, decreases H9c2 cells viability after DOX or MTX by increasing DNA double strand break generation induced by these drugs.

Assim como o número de casos de câncer vem aumentando em nível global, a busca por abordagens terapêuticas visando uma maior eficácia com um menor poder de causar efeitos prejudiciais aos pacientes também vem crescendo. As antraciclinas e antracenodionas, as quais tem como exemplos, doxorrubicina (DOX) e mitoxantrona (MTX), respectivamente, são fármacos utilizados na quimioterapia em diversas neoplasias incluindo tumores sólidos e não sólidos tais como de mama, leucemias, linfomas, sarcomas etc. Embora sejam eficazes ao que se propõem, o tratamento com estas moléculas pode acarretar em efeitos secundários, tais como arritmias e insuficiência cardíaca. Estas drogas além de interagirem com o ferro e apresentarem capacidade de gerar espécies reativas de oxigénio (ROS), apresentam como principal mecanismo a inibição da enzima topoisomerase 2 (Top2). Os inibidores de PARP-1 emergiram como uma nova alternativa para tratar determinados tipos de neoplasias em que a letalidade sintética possa ser explorada. Além disto, já foi relatado que a toxicidade cardíaca induzida por DOX seja influenciada pela atividade de PARP-1. O objetivo desta tese foi, portanto, avaliar a influência da inibição de PARP-1 na toxicidade cardíaca de DOX e MTX em células cardíacas. Células foram incubadas durante 24h com DOX ou MTX na presença ou na ausência de inibidor de PARP-1. Ensaios de viabilidade, apoptose e genotoxicidade e foram realizados. Além disso, a fosforilação de proteínas envolvidas na resposta a danos no DNA (ATM, MRE-11 e H2AX) foram avaliadas por western blot e imunofluorescência. Os resultados demonstraram que a inibição de PARP-1, apesar de diminuir a concentração de ROS, diminui a viabilidade de células H9c2 tratadas com DOX ou MTX por aumentar a geração de quebras duplas no DNA induzida por estes fármacos. / As the number of people with cancer are globally increasing, the search for therapeutic approaches that increases efficiency decreasing harmful effects to patients is also growing, giving rise to cardio-oncology. Anthracyclines, e.g., doxorubicin (DOX), and anthracenediones, e.g., mitoxantrone (MTX), are drugs used in the chemotherapy of several cancer types, including solid and non-solid malignancies such as breast cancer, leukemia, lymphomas, and sarcomas. Although they are effective in tumor therapy, treatment with these two drugs may lead to side effects such as arrhythmia and heart failure. These drugs interact with iron to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), target topoisomerase 2 (Top2), and impair mitochondria. PARP-1 inhibitors have emerged as a new alternative for treating certain types of malignancies in which the synthetic lethality can be exploited. Furthermore, it has been reported that DOX-induced cardiac cardiotoxicity is influenced by PARP-1 activity. The main goal of this thesis was, therefore, to evaluate PARP-1 inhibition influence in cardiac toxicity of DOX and MTX in cardiac cells. Cells were incubated for 24h with MTX or DOX in presence or absence of PARP-1 inhibitor. Viability, oxidative stress and genotoxicity assays have been conducted. Furthermore, phosphorylation of proteins involved in response to DNA damage (ATM, H2AX and MRE-11) were evaluated by western blot and immunofluorescence. Results demonstrated that inhibition of PARP-1, although decreasing ROS generation, decreases H9c2 cells viability after DOX or MTX by increasing DNA double strand break generation induced by these drugs.

Acrolein is an electrophilic α, β-unsaturated aldehyde. Additionally, acrolein is a metabolite of the antineoplastic alkylating agent cyclophosphamide and is implicated in off-target effects, including to bladder hemorrhagic cystitis and cyclophosphamide-induced cardiotoxicity, both of which have led to serious secondary iatrogenic injury during and following chemotherapy. At low concentrations acrolein inhibits cell proliferation without inducing apoptosis, while at high concentrations may result in secondary apoptosis promotion. This investigation assessed the role of the enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in acrolein induced toxicity using the established toxicological H9c2 (2-1) cardiomyoblast in vitro model. H9c2 (2-1) cells were plated in 24-well plates at 75,000 cells per well three days prior to testing, followed by acrolein dosing at concentrations between 10 µM and 1000µM for either 30 or 55 minutes. PARP activity was quantitatively measured in total cell lysates using a biotin-avidin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase-TMB reporter system in a 96-well microplate formate. The lowest effective dose of toxicity at 30 minute dosing was found at 25 μM (PARP Activity 1.65-fold control) which returned to baseline at 100 μM; concentrations at or above 250 μM results in significant PARP activity reductions (≤ 0.46-fold control). Biomarkers were further characterized for cytotoxicity (AST presence), and viability (MTT reduction) in order to facilitate mechanistic characterization of PARP-mediated acrolein cardiotoxicity. Investigation of a PARP inhibitor was assessed to explore the intervention for acrolein induced cardiac tissue damage.

Drug-induced cardiotoxicity has resulted in a thorough evaluation of patient doses, treatments, and rehabilitation. One of the most commonly prescribed chemotherapeutic agents is cyclophosphamide. The active metabolite, acrolein, is one of the most potent inducers of cardiomyopathy. In this study, research was conducted on the H9c2 (2-1) cardiomyocyte cell line derived from the embryonic myocardium of rattus norvegicus to assess its competency for evaluation of the change in poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activity. The application of this model to study the effects of acrolein on PARP activation was chosen as an ideal determinant of cell damage produced by nitrogen mustards. To verify the legitimacy of this model, cardiomyocytes were exposed to acrolein in varying concentrations and time durations with a subsequent protein concentration measurement determined through the BCA Protein Assay. After the normalization of samples through volume adjustments and verification of sufficient protein, other aliquots were subjected to a PARP Assay in order to measure PARP activity. PARP was activated at exposure concentrations of 75 μM in all trials, with an average detection of 0.00569 ± 0.001 mU/200ng protein. Other concentrations showed varying degrees of PARP activation, verifying the model’s competency. PARP activation implies the potential use of this model for further research into targeted molecular therapy of PARP inhibition. Therefore, this model has the ability to be used as an assessment tool for the combined use of PARP inhibitors and chemotherapeutic agents; it can be useful for future research investigating the use and efficacy of PARP inhibitors in reducing drug-induced cardiotoxicity.

The DNA base excision repair enzyme, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1), is a multi-functional enzyme and a member of a subfamily of three PARPs that covalently build PAR polymers onto proteins to regulate their function. Drug inhibitors of PARPs have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. Recently, we reported elevated gene expression levels of PARP1 in postmortem brain tissues from donors who had an active major depressive disorder at the time of death. Since PARP1 gene expression is positively correlated with PARP1 activity, these findings indicate that elevated PARP1 activity may contribute to brain pathology associated with depressive behavior. Therefore, we speculated that drug inhibitors of PARP1 may have antidepressant properties. To determine whether a rodent model could be used to evaluate the role of PARP1 in depressive-like behaviors, rats were exposed to repeated psychological stressors (social defeat and chronic unpredictable stress) for 10 days. Anhedonia (estimated by sucrose preference) and brain PARP1 gene expression levels were measured. After stress exposure, rats exhibited significantly reduced sucrose preference and significantly higher levels of brain PARP1 gene expression. To examine potential antidepressant activity of PARP inhibitors, rats were administered PARP inhibitors or saline vehicle and were exposed to the Porsolt swim test or repeated social defeat and chronic unpredictable stress. Two PARP inhibitors were investigated, 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB) and 5-aminoisoquinolinone (5-AIQ). PARP inhibitors produced antidepressant-like effects in the Porsolt swim test similar to the common antidepressant fluoxetine by significantly decreasing immobility time and increasing latency to immobility. PARP1 inhibitors did not significantly affect locomotor activity or swim speeds, suggesting that antidepressant-like actions of these drugs were not secondary to a stimulant effect. Treatment of rats with a combination of 3-AB and fluoxetine, at low doses of these drugs that individually did not have antidepressant-like effects, significantly decreased immobility time and increased latency to immobility in the swim test. Finally, treatment of rats with 3-AB significantly increased sucrose preference and social interaction times relative to vehicle-treated control rats following repeated exposure to combined social defeat and unpredictable stress, exhibiting effects similar to fluoxetine treatment. These findings uncover PARP1 as a unique molecular target for the development of a novel class of antidepressants that could be used alone or in combination with existing antidepressants.

L'exposition aux rayons ultraviolets (UV) est essentielle à la vie et bénéfique pour la santé humaine. Cependant, la surexposition aux UV solaires, en particulier aux UVB, rayons les plus énergétiques atteignant la surface terrestre, peut entrainer des cancers de la peau chez l'être-humain comme les cancers de la peau de type non-mélanome (NMSC). La capacité des UVB à initier des NMSC provient principalement de leurs habilités à causer des dommages directs à l'ADN, tels que les dimères cyclobutyliques de pyrimidine (CPD) et les produits pyrimidine-pyrimidone (6-4PP), qui sont pris en charge par le mécanisme de réparation par excision de nucléotide (NER). L'incidence croissante de NMSC chez les patients déficients pour l'une des protéines de la NER souligne l'importance d'un processus fonctionnel. Par conséquent, une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes moléculaires de la NER permettrait de mettre en évidence de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques pour la prévention ou le traitement des cancers de la peau. L'une des premières réponses cellulaires aux dommages CPD/6-4PP induits par UVB dans la peau des mammifères est l'activation de l'enzyme nucléaire poly(ADP-ribose) polymérase-1 (PARP1) qui catalyse la formation de polymères d'ADP-ribose. Les précédents travaux de notre laboratoire et d'autres équipes ont démontré que PARP1 et son activité enzymatique facilitent la NER en collaboration avec la protéine UV-damaged DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2), qui va aussi s'accumuler rapidement aux sites CPD/6-4PP pendant la phase de reconnaissance des dommages à l'ADN de la NER. Cependant, plusieurs aspects des interactions de PARP1 avec DDB2 et avec les dommages directs à l'ADN sont inconnus. Ainsi, le premier objectif de mon projet de doctorat a été de caractériser précisément la nature de la liaison de PARP1 aux dommages CPD/6-4PP induits par UV vis-à-vis la protéine DDB2. Mes recherches ont mis en évidence l'empreinte asymétrique formée par PARP1 de -12 à +9 nucléotides de chaque côté des dommages CPD/6-4PP en présence ou en absence de DDB2. Nous avons également démontré que PARP1 augmente l'affinité de DDB2 pour les dommages CPD/6-4PP. De plus, les résultats de notre étude indiquent un rôle de PARP1 indépendant de DDB2 pendant la phase de reconnaissance des dommages à l'ADN. Cibler PARP1 et son rôle dans les voies de réparation des dommages à l'ADN est l'une des stratégies les plus efficaces développées ces dernières années pour le traitement des cancers des ovaires et du sein. L'application translationnelle de mon projet de doctorat a alors été de comprendre le rôle de PARP1 dans la NER dans le contexte des NMSC. À cet égard, nous avons développé un modèle PARP1-KO dans la lignée de souris SKH-1, qui est un modèle largement adopté pour étudier les NMSC induits par UVB. Puisque les souris SKH-1 développent principalement des carcinomes spinocellulaires (CSC) cutanés après une exposition chronique aux UVB, notre étude rapporte le rôle de PARP1 dans le développement des CSC. En utilisant les souris nouvellement créées SKH-1 PARP1-KO et les souris SKH-1 PARP1-WT avec ou sans application topique d'inhibiteurs de PARP, nous avons mis en évidence que l'absence de PARP1 ou de son activité dans la peau des souris SKH-1 mâles et femelles réduit significativement le fardeau tumoral des CSC et prolonge la période de latence du développement tumoral. L'étude hebdomadaire de l'apparition et de la croissance de tumeurs tout au long du protocole révèlent aussi que cibler PARP1 est très efficace pour ralentir, à l'étape pré-maligne, le développement de CSC. Nos résultats sont surprenants à la lumière des propriétés onco-suppressives rapportées de PARP1 et de son activité catalytique dans des cas de cancérogenèse induits par des dommages à l'ADN causés par des agents alkylants, ainsi que de la susceptibilité croissante des souris knock-out pour d'autres protéines de la NER à développer des CSC induits par UVB. Le rôle de PARP1 dans les mécanismes cellulaires induits par UVB autres que la NER, comme la mort cellulaire et les modulations immunes, pourrait expliquer nos observations. Alors que d'autres analyses sont nécessaires pour comprendre le rôle de PARP1 dans ces mécanismes, notre étude met en avant l'utilisation potentielle d'inhibiteurs de PARP comme nouvel agent chimiopréventif contre les CSC induits par UVB. / The exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) is essential to life and beneficial to human health. However, an overexposure to terrestrial solar UV, especially its most energetic component UVB, can cause skin cancers including the non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) in humans. The NMSC initiating properties of UVB arise predominantly from their ability to cause direct DNA damage such as cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) and 6-4photoproducts (6-4PP), which are repaired via nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. The increased incidence of NMSC in patients with hereditary defects in NER pathway proteins underscores the importance of efficient NER in humans. Therefore, detailed understanding of the molecular operation of NER pathway can provide novel therapeutic targets for the prevention or treatment of skin cancers. One of the earliest responses of the mammalian skin cells to UVB-induced CPD or 6-4PP is the activation of the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1), which catalyzes the formation of polymers of ADP-ribose (PAR). The previous work from other teams and our laboratory have shown that PARP1 and its enzymatic activity facilitate NER in collaboration with UV-damaged DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2), which also rapidly accumulates at the CPD/6-4PP site during the DNA damage recognition stage of NER. However, many aspects of interaction of PARP1 with DDB2 and direct DNA damage are not understood. Therefore, the first aim of my doctoral project was to characterize the precise nature of binding of PARP1 vis-à-vis DDB2 at UV-induced CPD/6-4PP. My doctoral research demonstrates that PARP1 casts asymmetric footprint from −12 to +9 nucleotides on either side of the CPD/6-4PP in presence or absence of DDB2. We also demonstrated that PARP1 facilitates the binding of DDB2 to CPD/6-4PP. Moreover, our study reports DDB2-independent role of PARP1 during the DNA damage recognition phase in NER. Targeting the role of PARP1 in DNA strand break repair pathways has emerged as one of the successful strategies for the treatment of ovarian and breast cancers in last decade. Consequently, the ultimate translational goal of my doctoral project was to understand the implication of NER facilitating role of PARP1 in NMSC. In this regard, we first developed a PARP1-KO model in the albino hairless SKH-1 mouse strain, which is a widely adopted mouse model to study UVB-induced NMSC. Since SKH-1 mice mainly develop cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) upon chronic UVB-exposure, our present study reports the role of PARP1 in development of SCC. Using the newly developed PARP1-KO and PARP1-WT SKH-1 mice with or without topical application of PARP inhibitor, we report that the absence of PARP1 or its activity in skin of both male and female SKH-1 mice significantly reduces the SCC tumor burden and prolongs the tumor latency period. The analyses of appearance and growth of individual tumors on a weekly basis during this protocol also revealed that targeting of PARP1 was most effective in suppressing the premalignant stage of the SCC development. Our results are surprising in light of the reported onco-suppressive property of PARP1 and its catalytic activity in alkylating DNA damage-induced tumorigenesis and the increased susceptibility of other NER protein knock-out mice to UVB-induced SCC. We reason that the roles of PARP1 in UVB-induced cellular processes other than NER, such as cell death and immune modulations, can account for our observation. While further studies are required to understand these roles of PARP1 in UVB-induced cellular processes, our study underscores the potential for use of PARP inhibitors as a novel chemopreventive agents against UVB-induced SCC.

L'exposition aux rayons ultraviolets (UV) est essentielle à la vie et bénéfique pour la santé humaine. Cependant, la surexposition aux UV solaires, en particulier aux UVB, rayons les plus énergétiques atteignant la surface terrestre, peut entrainer des cancers de la peau chez l'être-humain comme les cancers de la peau de type non-mélanome (NMSC). La capacité des UVB à initier des NMSC provient principalement de leurs habilités à causer des dommages directs à l'ADN, tels que les dimères cyclobutyliques de pyrimidine (CPD) et les produits pyrimidine-pyrimidone (6-4PP), qui sont pris en charge par le mécanisme de réparation par excision de nucléotide (NER). L'incidence croissante de NMSC chez les patients déficients pour l'une des protéines de la NER souligne l'importance d'un processus fonctionnel. Par conséquent, une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes moléculaires de la NER permettrait de mettre en évidence de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques pour la prévention ou le traitement des cancers de la peau. L'une des premières réponses cellulaires aux dommages CPD/6-4PP induits par UVB dans la peau des mammifères est l'activation de l'enzyme nucléaire poly(ADP-ribose) polymérase-1 (PARP1) qui catalyse la formation de polymères d'ADP-ribose. Les précédents travaux de notre laboratoire et d'autres équipes ont démontré que PARP1 et son activité enzymatique facilitent la NER en collaboration avec la protéine UV-damaged DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2), qui va aussi s'accumuler rapidement aux sites CPD/6-4PP pendant la phase de reconnaissance des dommages à l'ADN de la NER. Cependant, plusieurs aspects des interactions de PARP1 avec DDB2 et avec les dommages directs à l'ADN sont inconnus. Ainsi, le premier objectif de mon projet de doctorat a été de caractériser précisément la nature de la liaison de PARP1 aux dommages CPD/6-4PP induits par UV vis-à-vis la protéine DDB2. Mes recherches ont mis en évidence l'empreinte asymétrique formée par PARP1 de -12 à +9 nucléotides de chaque côté des dommages CPD/6-4PP en présence ou en absence de DDB2. Nous avons également démontré que PARP1 augmente l'affinité de DDB2 pour les dommages CPD/6-4PP. De plus, les résultats de notre étude indiquent un rôle de PARP1 indépendant de DDB2 pendant la phase de reconnaissance des dommages à l'ADN. Cibler PARP1 et son rôle dans les voies de réparation des dommages à l'ADN est l'une des stratégies les plus efficaces développées ces dernières années pour le traitement des cancers des ovaires et du sein. L'application translationnelle de mon projet de doctorat a alors été de comprendre le rôle de PARP1 dans la NER dans le contexte des NMSC. À cet égard, nous avons développé un modèle PARP1-KO dans la lignée de souris SKH-1, qui est un modèle largement adopté pour étudier les NMSC induits par UVB. Puisque les souris SKH-1 développent principalement des carcinomes spinocellulaires (CSC) cutanés après une exposition chronique aux UVB, notre étude rapporte le rôle de PARP1 dans le développement des CSC. En utilisant les souris nouvellement créées SKH-1 PARP1-KO et les souris SKH-1 PARP1-WT avec ou sans application topique d'inhibiteurs de PARP, nous avons mis en évidence que l'absence de PARP1 ou de son activité dans la peau des souris SKH-1 mâles et femelles réduit significativement le fardeau tumoral des CSC et prolonge la période de latence du développement tumoral. L'étude hebdomadaire de l'apparition et de la croissance de tumeurs tout au long du protocole révèlent aussi que cibler PARP1 est très efficace pour ralentir, à l'étape pré-maligne, le développement de CSC. Nos résultats sont surprenants à la lumière des propriétés onco-suppressives rapportées de PARP1 et de son activité catalytique dans des cas de cancérogenèse induits par des dommages à l'ADN causés par des agents alkylants, ainsi que de la susceptibilité croissante des souris knock-out pour d'autres protéines de la NER à développer des CSC induits par UVB. Le rôle de PARP1 dans les mécanismes cellulaires induits par UVB autres que la NER, comme la mort cellulaire et les modulations immunes, pourrait expliquer nos observations. Alors que d'autres analyses sont nécessaires pour comprendre le rôle de PARP1 dans ces mécanismes, notre étude met en avant l'utilisation potentielle d'inhibiteurs de PARP comme nouvel agent chimiopréventif contre les CSC induits par UVB. / The exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) is essential to life and beneficial to human health. However, an overexposure to terrestrial solar UV, especially its most energetic component UVB, can cause skin cancers including the non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) in humans. The NMSC initiating properties of UVB arise predominantly from their ability to cause direct DNA damage such as cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) and 6-4photoproducts (6-4PP), which are repaired via nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. The increased incidence of NMSC in patients with hereditary defects in NER pathway proteins underscores the importance of efficient NER in humans. Therefore, detailed understanding of the molecular operation of NER pathway can provide novel therapeutic targets for the prevention or treatment of skin cancers. One of the earliest responses of the mammalian skin cells to UVB-induced CPD or 6-4PP is the activation of the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1), which catalyzes the formation of polymers of ADP-ribose (PAR). The previous work from other teams and our laboratory have shown that PARP1 and its enzymatic activity facilitate NER in collaboration with UV-damaged DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2), which also rapidly accumulates at the CPD/6-4PP site during the DNA damage recognition stage of NER. However, many aspects of interaction of PARP1 with DDB2 and direct DNA damage are not understood. Therefore, the first aim of my doctoral project was to characterize the precise nature of binding of PARP1 vis-à-vis DDB2 at UV-induced CPD/6-4PP. My doctoral research demonstrates that PARP1 casts asymmetric footprint from −12 to +9 nucleotides on either side of the CPD/6-4PP in presence or absence of DDB2. We also demonstrated that PARP1 facilitates the binding of DDB2 to CPD/6-4PP. Moreover, our study reports DDB2-independent role of PARP1 during the DNA damage recognition phase in NER. Targeting the role of PARP1 in DNA strand break repair pathways has emerged as one of the successful strategies for the treatment of ovarian and breast cancers in last decade. Consequently, the ultimate translational goal of my doctoral project was to understand the implication of NER facilitating role of PARP1 in NMSC. In this regard, we first developed a PARP1-KO model in the albino hairless SKH-1 mouse strain, which is a widely adopted mouse model to study UVB-induced NMSC. Since SKH-1 mice mainly develop cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) upon chronic UVB-exposure, our present study reports the role of PARP1 in development of SCC. Using the newly developed PARP1-KO and PARP1-WT SKH-1 mice with or without topical application of PARP inhibitor, we report that the absence of PARP1 or its activity in skin of both male and female SKH-1 mice significantly reduces the SCC tumor burden and prolongs the tumor latency period. The analyses of appearance and growth of individual tumors on a weekly basis during this protocol also revealed that targeting of PARP1 was most effective in suppressing the premalignant stage of the SCC development. Our results are surprising in light of the reported onco-suppressive property of PARP1 and its catalytic activity in alkylating DNA damage-induced tumorigenesis and the increased susceptibility of other NER protein knock-out mice to UVB-induced SCC. We reason that the roles of PARP1 in UVB-induced cellular processes other than NER, such as cell death and immune modulations, can account for our observation. While further studies are required to understand these roles of PARP1 in UVB-induced cellular processes, our study underscores the potential for use of PARP inhibitors as a novel chemopreventive agents against UVB-induced SCC.

Les cassures double-brin de l'ADN, lorsque incorrectement réparées, peuvent avoir des conséquences fatales telles que des délétions et des réarrangements chromosomiques, favorisant la carcinogenèse. La poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation réalisée par la protéine poly(ADP-ribose) polymérase-1 (PARP-1) est l'une des premières modifications post-traductionnelles qui se produisent en réponse aux dommages à l'ADN. La PARP-1 utilise la nicotinamide pour générer un polymère chargé négativement, nommé poly(ADP-ribose) polymère (PAR), lequel est attaché en majorité à la PARP-1 elle-même ainsi qu'à d'autres protéines cibles. Le PAR a récemment été reconnu comme un signal de recrutement pour certaines protéines de réparation aux sites de dommages à l'ADN, mais un débat est en cours quant au rôle précis de la PARP-1 et du PAR dans la réponse aux dommages de l'ADN. Au cours de mon projet de doctorat, nous avons pu confirmer que les protéines qui se retrouvent en complexe avec le PAR immédiatement après les dommages à l'ADN sont principalement des facteurs de réparation. Étonnamment, les complexes protéiques associés au PAR pendant la période de récupération suite aux dommages sont enrichis en facteurs de liaison à l'ARN. Toutefois, la protéine liant l'ARN la plus abondante que nous avons détectée dans l'interactome du PAR, soit NONO, ne suit pas cette dernière cinétique puisqu'elle est fortement enrichie immédiatement après les dommages à l'ADN. Notre étude subséquente de NONO dans la réponse aux cassures double-brin de l'ADN a étonnamment révélé une implication directe de celle-ci par le mécanismede réparation de jonction des extrémités non-homologues. En plus, nous avons constaté que NONO se lie fortement et spécifiquement au PAR via son motif 1 de la reconnaissance de l'ARN, soulignant la compétition entre les PAR et l'ARN pour le même site de liaison. Fait intéressant, le recrutement in vivo de NONO aux sites de dommages de l'ADN dépend entièrement du PAR et nécessite le motif 1 de la reconnaissance de l'ARN. En conclusion, nos résultats établissent NONO comme une nouvelle protéine impliquée dans la réponse aux cassures double-brin de l'ADN et plus généralement démontrent un autre niveau de complexité supplémentaire dans l'interdépendance de la biologie de l'ARN et la réparation de l'ADN. / DNA double-strand breaks are potentially lethal lesions, which if not repaired correctly, can have harmful consequences such as carcinogenesis promoted by chromosome deletions and rearrangements. Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation carried out by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) is one of the first posttranslational modifications occurring in response to DNA damage. In brief, PARP-1 uses nicotinamide to generate a negatively charged polymer called poly(ADP-ribose) polymer (PAR), that can be attached to acceptor proteins, which is to a large extent PARP-1 itself. PAR has recently been recognized as a recruitment signal for key DNA repair proteins to sites of DNA damage but the precise role of PARP-1 and its catalytic product PAR in the DNA damage response are still a matter of ongoing debate. Throughout my doctoral work, we confirmed that the proteins in complex with PAR promptly after DNA damage are mostly DNA repair proteins, whereas during the period of recovery from DNA damage, the PAR interactome is highly enriched with RNA processing factors. Interestingly, one of the most abundant RNA-binding proteins detected in the PAR interactome, namely NONO, did not follow these kinetics as it was highly enriched immediately after DNA damage in the DNA repair protein complexes centered on PAR. Our subsequent investigation of NONO in the DNA damage response to double-strand breaks strikingly revealed a direct implication for NONO in repair by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). Moreover, we found that NONO strongly and specifically binds to PAR through its RNA-recognition motif 1 (RRM1), highlighting competition between PAR and RNA for the same binding site. Remarkably, the in vivo recruitment of NONO to DNA damage sites completely depends on PAR and requires the RRM1 motif. In conclusion, our results establish NONO as a new protein implicated in the DNA damage response to double-strand break and in broader terms add another layer of complexity to the cross-talk between RNA-biology and DNA repair.