Abstract A148: The radiosensitizing effects of the novel brain penetrant and potent ATM inhibitor WSD0628 in glioblastoma and melanoma patient derived xenografts
Authors: Xue Zhiyi , Mladek Ann C. , Rathi Sneha , Burgenske Danielle M. , Gupta Shiv K. , Carlson Brett L. , Hu Zeng , Ott Lauren L , Bakken Katrina K. , Vaubel Rachael A. , Elmquist William F , Zhong Wei , Sarkaria Jann N 
Published: December 2023

Radiation therapy (RT) is an important non-surgical clinical treatment for glioblastoma (GBM) and brain metastases, but inherent radio-resistance can limit the efficacy in many patients. The Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) protein critically regulates radiotherapy-mediated DNA damage repair pathways, and defects in this kinase can lead to profound radiosensitivity. In this study, the efficacy of the highly potent ATM inhibitor WSD0628 was evaluated in GBM and melanoma brain metastasis patient derived xenografts (PDXs).  In short term explant cultures of three PDXs, WSD0628 robustly suppressed RT-induced autophosphorylation of ATM at serine 1981 and ATM-mediated phosphorylation of Chk2 at threonine-68 and KAP1 at serine-824, with maximal inhibition at 100 nM. Similarly, RT-induced gH2AX foci were significantly reduced when combined with WSD0628 in the GBM43 cells. Consistent with the importance of ATM in the DNA damage response after radiation, WSD0628 significantly increased the radiosensitivity of U251 cells in clonogenic survival assays (0nM vs. 30nM at 5Gy, p&lt;0.01). To evaluate the optimal duration of drug exposure, WSD0628 was removed from U251 cells at various intervals following irradiation with 5 Gy. Using clonogenic survival as a readout, a 10-fold increase in cytotoxicity was observed with an 8 hour drug exposure, with progressively increasing cytotoxicity gains with exposures up to 24 hours. In vivo efficacy of WSD0628 was evaluated in multiple intracranial PDX models. In an initial dose-ranging study, robust radiosensitization was observed in GBM43 treated with 2 Gy x 5 fractions combined with 5 mg/kg WSD0628 (20 day survival extension) or 10mg/kg WSD0628 (39 day with 10 mg/kg; p&lt;0.01 for both dose levels). Moreover, a single dose of 12.5 Gy combined with 10 mg/kg WSD0628 had profound impact on treatment efficacy in the melanoma brain metastasis M12 PDX: at 180 days post-treatment, all mice in the combination group were electively euthanized, while median survival for sham or RT alone was 17d and 49d, respectively. Histologic analysis identified large intracranial tumors in all sham and RT-only treated mice, but only a small accumulation of melanotic cells without obvious tumor in the combination-treated mice. Immunohistochemical staining of NeuN and GFAP in the combination-treated mice showed preserved neuronal density at the 180-post treatment timepoint and minimal reactive gliosis within the ‘tumor scar’. An ongoing study is comparing this single-fraction 12.5 Gy regimen to a 2.4 Gy x 10 fraction regimen alone or in combination with WSD0628. Collectively, this study demonstrates the potential for profound radiosensitizing effects of WSD0628 in combination without obvious neuronal toxicity and has provided the scientific rational for the first-in-man study of this combination in recurrent GBM (NCT05917145) at Mayo Clinic.

Citation Format: Zhiyi Xue, Ann C. Mladek, Sneha Rathi, Danielle M. Burgenske, Shiv K. Gupta, Brett L. Carlson, Zeng Hu, Lauren L Ott, Katrina K. Bakken, Rachael A. Vaubel, William F Elmquist, Wei Zhong, Jann N Sarkaria. The radiosensitizing effects of the novel brain penetrant and potent ATM inhibitor WSD0628 in glioblastoma and melanoma patient derived xenografts [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC Virtual International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2023 Oct 11-15; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2023;22(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A148.