Abstract 3503: Biomarkers for inhibitors of the replication stress response proteins WEE1 and ATR in triple negative breast cancer
Authors: Serra Violeta , Cruz Cristina , Lai Zhongwu , Castroviejo-Bermejo Marta , Palafox Marta , Polanska Urszula M. , Jones Gemma N. , Wang Anderson , Michopoulos Filippos , Brough Rachel , Dougherty Brian , Cadogan Elaine , Critchlow Susan , Bruna Alejandra , Barrett J. Carl , Saura Cristina , Lord Christopher J. , Caldas Carlos , Arribas Joaquin , Balmaña Judith , O’Connor Mark J. 
Published: August 2019

Replication stress (RS) is a hallmark of cancer and has the potential to be exploited by selective DNA Damage Response inhibitors. During replication stress, the DNA polymerase is uncoupled from the replisome helicase activity resulting in extended regions of single strand DNA that lead to the initiation of a replication stress response (RSR). Two key regulators of the RSR are the ATR and WEE1 kinases. Here, we aimed to identify patient selection biomarkers for WEE1 and ATR inhibitors (WEE1i, ATRi) from a cohort of 37 patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDX) from ovarian or triple negative breast cancer, 20 of which harbored BRCA1/BRCA2deleterious mutations. The antitumor response of the WEE1i AZD1775 and the ATRi AZD6837 was evaluated, and PDX tumors were characterized by exome sequencing, metabolomics, western blot and immunohistochemistry. AZD1775 treatment response in PDXs, measured as tumor regressions (≤-30% change in tumor volume), was observed in 28% of models tested. Exome sequencing identified an association between treatment response and concomitant alterations in RB1 and STK11 (LKB1), whose functional relevance was validated in an in vitro model. Immunoblots showed that WEE1i treatment resulted in downregulation of the ribonucleotide reductase subunit RRM2 and induction of an S-phase DNA damage response (DDR) in vivo. Metabolomics identified a profound change in the purine and pyrimidine synthesis pathways in WEE1i-sensitive PDXs and these changes appear functionally relevant since PDX ex vivo data demonstrate rescue of the WEE1i effects after addition of nucleosides. Another important association with WEE1i sensitivity was increased cyclin E expression. Together, these data suggest that early entry into S phase and an imbalance of origin firing to available dNTPs represent drivers of sensitivity to the WEE1i. Interestingly by contrast, ATRi-sensitive PDXs (representing 10% of the models) were characterized primarily by those tumors harboring ATM alterations, suggesting that synthetic lethality with this major DDR pathway is the primary mechanism of sensitivity to the ATR inhibitor in ovarian and triple negative breast cancer. This study therefore highlights differences between the drivers of sensitivity to inhibitors of these two important RSR proteins.

Citation Format: Violeta Serra, Cristina Cruz, Zhongwu Lai, Marta Castroviejo-Bermejo, Marta Palafox, Urszula M. Polanska, Gemma N. Jones, Anderson Wang, Filippos Michopoulos, Rachel Brough, Brian Dougherty, Elaine Cadogan, Susan Critchlow, Alejandra Bruna, J. Carl Barrett, Cristina Saura, Christopher J. Lord, Carlos Caldas, Joaquin Arribas, Judith Balmaña, Mark J. O’Connor. Biomarkers for inhibitors of the replication stress response proteins WEE1 and ATR in triple negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3503.