Abstract 1661: TRIP12 as a mediator of human papillomavirus/p16-related radiation enhancement effects
Authors: Wang Li , Zhang Peijing , Molkentine David , Molkentine Jessica , Raju Uma , Valdecanas David , Tailor Ramesh , Thames Howard , Buchholz Thomas , Chen Junjie , Ma Li , Mason Kathy , Meyn Raymond , Skinner Heath D. 
Published: July 2016

Objective: Patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have better responses to radiotherapy and higher overall survival rates than do patients with HPV-negative HNSCC, but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are unknown. P16 is used as a surrogate marker for HPV infection. Our goal was to examine the role of p16 in HPV-related favorable treatment outcomes and to investigate the mechanisms by which p16 may regulate radiosensitivity.

Methods: HNSCC cells and xenografts were used. P16-overexpressing (HPV/p16-negative HN5 and UMSCC-1) and p16 shRNA knockdown (HPV/p16-positive UMSCC-47 and UCPI-SCC154) cells, TRIP12 shRNA or siRNA knockdown (HPV/p16-negative HN5 and Fadu) cells were generated. The effects of p16 or TRIP12 on HNSCC cell radiosensitivity were determined by clonogenic cell survival. The effects of p16 on tumor xenografts (HPV/p16-negative HN5 and HPV/p16-positive UMSCC-47) radioresponse were evaluated by tumor growth delay assays. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) were assessed by immunofluorescence analysis of 53BP1 foci; DSB levels were determined by neutral comet assay; western blotting was used to evaluate protein changes; changes in protein half-life were tested with a cycloheximide assay; gene expression was examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR); and data from The Cancer Genome Atlas HNSCC project were analyzed.

Results: P16 expression led to downregulation of TRIP12 protein both in vitro and in vivo via decreasing TRIP12 protein's half life, which in turn led to increased RNF168 levels and subsequently repressed DNA damage repair, represented by increased 53BP1 foci and neutral comet moment tails at 24 hours after irradiation. As a result, p16 expression enhanced radioresponsiveness both in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of TRIP12 expression led to radiosensitization through repressed DNA damage repair, represented by decreased BRCA1 foci at 1 and 5 hours after irradiation; and increased neutral comet moment tails at 24 hours after irradiation. Furthermore, overexpression of TRIP12 was associated with poor survival in patients with HPV-positive HNSCC.

Conclusions: The findings of our study reveal that p16 participates in radiosensitization through influencing DNA damage repair. P16 downregulates TRIP12 protein expression via post-translational regulation. Inhibition of TRIP12 sensitized HNSCC cells via prohibition of DNA damage repair. These findings support the rationale of blocking TRIP12 signaling to improve radiotherapy outcomes.

Citation Format: Li Wang, Peijing Zhang, David Molkentine, Jessica Molkentine, Uma Raju, David Valdecanas, Ramesh Tailor, Howard Thames, Thomas Buchholz, Junjie Chen, Li Ma, Kathy Mason, Raymond Meyn, Heath D. Skinner. TRIP12 as a mediator of human papillomavirus/p16-related radiation enhancement effects. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1661.