Abstract 4644: Single strand DNA GAP accumulation as a functional biomarker for USP1 inhibitor sensitivity in ovarian cancer patient-derived organoid models
Authors: Da Costa Alexandre Andre B. A. , Somuncu Ozge , Ravindranathan Ramya , Mukkavalli Sirisha , Martigneti David , Nguyen Huy , Jiao Yuqing , Lamarre Benjamin , Sadatrezai Golbahar , Moreau Lisa , Liu Joyce , Iyer Divya , Lazaro Jean-Bernard , Shapiro Geoffrey , Parmar Kalindi , D'Andrea Alan D. 
Published: March 2024

Recent studies suggest that PARP inhibitors and POLQ inhibitors confer synthetic lethality in BRCA1-deficient tumors by accumulation of single-stranded DNA gaps (ssDNA gaps) at replication forks. Loss of USP1, a deubiquitinating enzyme, is also synthetic lethal with BRCA1 deficiency, and USP1 inhibitors are now undergoing clinical development for these cancers. Here, we show that USP1 inhibitors also promote the accumulation of ssDNA gaps during replication in BRCA1-deficient cells. USP1 inhibition increased monoubiquitinated PCNA at replication forks and resulted in accumulation of ssDNA gaps in BRCA1-deficient cancer cells. Knockdown of RAD18, the E3 ubiquitin ligase known to ubiquitinate PCNA, caused USP1 inhibitor resistance and suppression of ssDNA gaps. ssDNA gap accumulation induced by USP1 inhibition correlates with drug sensitivity of BRCA1-mutated cancer cells and overcomes PARP inhibitor resistance in cell line and xenograft models. Furthermore, USP1 inhibition was synergistic with PARP and POLQ inhibition in BRCA1-mutant cells, with enhanced ssDNA gap accumulation. A set of patient-derived ovarian cancer organoids (PDOs) were used to confirm the sensitivity of BRCA1-deficient cells to USP1 inhibition. Five PDOs were derived from patients with high grade-serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). Among the five PDOs, two of them were from tumors harboring germline BRCA1 pathogenic mutations. BRCA1-mutant PDOs, but not BRCA1-WT PDOs, were sensitive to a USP1 inhibitor and to PARP inhibitor monotherapies. The accumulation of ssDNA gaps after treatment with a USP1 inhibitor or a PARP inhibitor correlated with the sensitivity to these drugs in all the models tested. Moreover, the combination of a PARP inhibitor and a USP1 inhibitor showed synergy in a BRCA1-WT model, which was resistant to both monotherapies. Interestingly, ssDNA gaps accumulated with the combination treatment and not with monotherapy in this model. Ovarian cancer PDOs therefore provide a powerful tool for rapid in vitro sensitivity testing. The detection of ssDNA gap accumulation may be a useful predictive biomarker for response to USP1 inhibition as monotherapy or in combination in ongoing clinical trials.

Citation Format: Alexandre Andre B. A. Da Costa, Ozge Somuncu, Ramya Ravindranathan, Sirisha Mukkavalli, David Martigneti, Huy Nguyen, Yuqing Jiao, Benjamin Lamarre, Golbahar Sadatrezai, Lisa Moreau, Joyce Liu, Divya Iyer, Jean-Bernard Lazaro, Geoffrey Shapiro, Kalindi Parmar, Alan D. D'Andrea. Single strand DNA GAP accumulation as a functional biomarker for USP1 inhibitor sensitivity in ovarian cancer patient-derived organoid models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 4644.