Abstract B042: Loss of nuclear alpha catenin contributes to chemoresistance and aggressive disease in African American triple-negative breast cancer patients
Authors: Bassiouni Rania , Dirgo Victoria , Mansfield Krystine , Sharma Ritin , Gibbs Lee D. , Pirrotte Patrick , Vohra Nasreen , Gardner Kevin , Carpten John D. 
Published: August 2020

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive, difficult-to-treat subtype of the disease. A well-documented health disparity exists within TNBC: African American (AA) women are more likely to be diagnosed with and die from the disease. Our group reported homozygous deletions in the CTNNA1 gene, which encodes the protein alpha catenin, in AA TNBC. We have undertaken a basic and translational research study to understand the mechanistic role and clinical impact of alpha catenin loss in TNBC, particularly in AA patients. To validate our findings of alpha catenin loss in TNBC, we analyzed over 600 breast cancer patient samples by immunohistochemistry. We found that alpha catenin protein loss was inversely correlated with survival in TNBC. Moreover, loss was observed more frequently in tumors from AA patients. Interestingly, both nuclear and cytosolic alpha catenin adhered to this pattern. While its cytosolic role has been well studied, little is known about nuclear alpha catenin and its role in disease. To understand the nuclear function of alpha catenin, we developed several isogenic cell line pairs. Using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing, we generated CTNNA1 knockout (KO) BT-549 and MB-MDA-436 cell lines. We also reintroduced CTNNA1 into MDA-MB-468 cells—a line derived from an AA woman with an endogenous deletion in CTNNA1. Using these models, we found that alpha catenin KO cells demonstrated greater capacity for anchorage-independent growth. Loss of alpha catenin also resulted in decreased sensitivity to DNA-damaging chemotherapies including platinum salts (cisplatin, carboplatin), topoisomerase poisons (doxorubicin, etoposide), and the PARP inhibitor olaparib. This is clinically relevant as doxorubicin, carboplatin, and olaparib are approved for treatment of TNBC patients. To identify binding partners, we performed co-immunoprecipitation of alpha catenin from nuclear lysates, followed by mass spectrometry. We found that nuclear alpha catenin can interact directly with ATR, a kinase critical to the DNA damage response (DDR). ATR mediates both the repair of DNA lesions and the G2/M cell cycle checkpoint, which ensures that only cells with undamaged DNA may enter mitosis. We further found that alpha catenin KO cells were more sensitive to inhibitors of ATR, as well as to inhibitors of the G2/M checkpoint proteins Chk1 and Wee1. Tellingly, the KO cells were less sensitive to inhibitors of ATM or DNA-PK, two regulators of alternate DDR pathways. This suggests that nuclear alpha catenin likely plays a specific role in ATR-directed processes. In our study, we have identified nuclear alpha catenin as a tumor suppressor that affects TNBC's susceptibility to chemotherapy by playing a role in the DDR and the G2/M checkpoint. Our data suggest that loss of alpha catenin is more common in AA patients, and is associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, CTNNA1 status may be important in determining appropriate therapeutic strategies in a subset of patients.

Citation Format: Rania Bassiouni, Victoria Dirgo, Krystine Mansfield, Ritin Sharma, Lee D. Gibbs, Patrick Pirrotte, Nasreen Vohra, Kevin Gardner, John D. Carpten. Loss of nuclear alpha catenin contributes to chemoresistance and aggressive disease in African American triple-negative breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr B042.